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Good evening. It is my pleasure to welcome into the
Wetaskiwin Sports Hall of Fame the Wetaskiwin Warlords
Special Olympics Slow Pitch Softball team in the Team
Category for 2019.
Blaine Fuller,
who has been fundraiser, manager and coach for Special
Olympics since its inception in Wetaskiwin, will be speaking
on behalf of the team tonight. It speaks to his dedication
that this year marks the 30th anniversary of Special
Olympics in Wetaskiwin.
The Warlords,
as part of this organization for 3 years, represented our
province in the Canadian Special Olympics held in Surrey,
B.C. in 1998. They learned to overcome obstacles, come
together as a team to achieve excellence in their love of
sport. I leave Blaine to tell the team stories, so that I
can tell you a bit about the Special Olympic Organization.
There are over
100 communities involved in various sports and over 3000 participants
in Alberta. To be a participant on the mixed gender teams,
athletes must be 12 years or older. In any international
competitions they must be 14 years of age. The players must
also be registered as having some intellectual disability.
Sports range from floor hockey, softball, bocce, curling,
soccer, and track and field, just to mention a few.
Special
Olympics is a provincial program, with some funding at
provincial championship levels, but activities are run
strictly by volunteers in the local community. It takes many
volunteers willing to commit their free time. Athletes are
usually on fixed incomes, making it hard to run programs
without fundraising activities such as bingos, bottle
drives, etc. Blaine figures he’d be a millionaire by now
with all the money the volunteers and teams raised over the
years.
Programs are
played in various venues in town. The city and Wetaskiwin
schools make their facilities available at little or no
cost, which is greatly appreciated by volunteers and
players. There is payback for the use of the gym at Queen E
when the teams raise funds to support programs such as “Feed
the Student Lunches. “
Athletes
compete in both summer and winter games held in various
towns and cities throughout the province. Just this last
February, Calgary hosted the Winter Special Olympics.
If you haven’t
already heard this news, Wetaskiwin won the curling event
and will now represent Alberta in the National Championships
being held in Thunder Bay in 2020.
The Sports
Hall of Fame is an inclusive organization that has honoured
many athletes and many different sports. We are pleased to
honour and celebrate the achievements of the Warlords Slo-Pitch Team in the team category for 2019.
Blaine Fuller,
would you please help the team come forward as I call their
names. Chris Hardy will be presenting the team award on
behalf of the Sports Hall of Fame.
Return to
Warlords Inductee Page
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