Quesnel's Special Olympics program is driven by its volunteers who help run different programs that help people with intellectual disabilities stay active and have fun by keeping sports accessible.
Some of the many programs that the organization runs are swimming, basketball and bowling. The program's most senior volunteer who has been around since the Quesnel chapter started coaches the bowling program and their youngest volunteer has been involved with both swimming and basketball.
The youngest volunteer
William Colegate was 10-years-old when he and his dad, Grant Colegate started volunteering for Quesnel's Special Olympics.
"We first started doing it with swimming and I like swimming," William said.
Grant explained that William's mother volunteers with Green Hope Society and he and William wanted to find something to do themselves.
"I met Rick (Prosk, program coordinator for Quesnel Special Olympics) playing pickleball with a group of Special Olympic athletes and I was like 'oh maybe we could do something like that!'" Grant said.
William and Grant started volunteering with weekly swimming practices and then went onto William's favourite sport, basketball. Because the minimum age requirement for volunteers is 12-years-old for Special Olympics, William wasn't an officially registered volunteer.
But shortly after his 12th birthday, Prosk presented him with a certificate which reads "congratulations to William Colegate! Upon reaching your twelfth birthday, you are now an officially registered volunteer with Special Olympics B.C. Thank you for your service!"
William said it was a really cool moment.
"It was at the start of basketball practice, we do warm-ups and then Rick said something about me joining a couple years ago and then he gave me the certificate," William said.
Prosk told The Observer William has been very helpful to the program. He helps lead the warm-ups at basketball and assisting the coaches with everything from setting up pylons for practices or demonstrating different skills.
"He's not in a position of authority, he doesn't have to run the practice or demand the attention of the group. There's adults there to support everything he does and I think it gives the kids in the program someone who is much more relatable. Rather than adults who are like their teachers or their parents."
Prosk said he also thinks William's involvement is helpful for him both with building his own skills, but also being able to interact with people who might not otherwise get to.
"The school experience for a lot of kids in terms of interacting with intellectually disabled kids is quite artificial a lot of times. It's filtered through adults, through a support worker, through a teacher," he said. "It's not very often that kids get to interact with each other on the same level, especially in sports."
Doreen O'Brien there from the beginning
Another volunteer who has made a huge impact on the Special Olympics program in Quesnel is Doreen O'Brien who has been volunteering for the organization for over 30 years, since it started in Quesnel. She began volunteering because her son had down syndrome and she wanted to support him.
As someone who has been bowling for years, O'Brien started up the organization's bowling program and has stayed on as a coach since then.
"I'm 88-years-old and I am a widow and I live by myself," she said. She stayed involved with organization after her son passed away because she enjoys working with the athletes and it gives her something to do.
"We had about 50 bowlers start off with us," she said. Over the years, O'Brien said she's had many wonderful experiences coaching. "I went to provincials and nationals, I just enjoy working with them. I think there's 36 bowlers this year, they're all great."
She said she appreciates Special Olympics because it gives the athletes a chance to have something fun to do.
Volunteers key to success of programs
Prosk highlighted the importance of volunteers like William and O'Brien, he explained the organization offers a variety of sports athletes can participate in and while some like to play a variety of sports, others only like one or two.
"I know of a young athlete, he's 13 now and he's in Special Olympics to participate in alpine skiing and that seems to be the only sport that's of interest to him. If we didn't offer alpine skiing, then he wouldn't be involved in Special Olympics," Prosk said. There are over 50 volunteers who help out Special Olympics in Quesnel, the highest number they've ever had.
Prosk said one of the key things in finding people to help with programs is ensuring the people delivering them are passionate about their sport.
"You have to find people that have a passion for that particular program," he said. "In the end, the program has to be driven by people that are passionate about that program. That are going to make that program the best they can for the athletes."
Both William and O'Brien have a passion for the sports they've volunteered with, William's favourite sport is basketball and O'Brien has been bowling for the majority of her adult life, and still continues to bowl.
Because of the commitment of volunteers, Quesnel Special Olympics has the ability to run programs almost daily and offers a wide variety of sports athletes can participate in.
