Barrie mayor proclaims June 27 Special Olympics Day

BARRIE, ONT. -

After a challenging year, Barrie's Special Olympics athletes are celebrating some due recognition.

Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman declared Sunday Special Olympics Day in the city of Barrie. The organization says the recognition comes at a trying time for athletes who have been unable to gather in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The biggest difficulty is keeping the athletes engaged, physically and mentally," says Kathy McCarroll, a coach with Special Olympics Barrie. "We've set up virtual programs, and we've had a lot of athletes be into that with attending physical workouts online."

In honour of the recognition, a flag was raised at city hall. The group also celebrated virtually with activities such as bingo and a scavenger hunt. While the pandemic has been challenging for everyone, McCarroll points out it's been especially devastating for these athletes, as the organization is the only social outlet many have.

"They depend on our programs for social as much as they do physical activities," McCarroll says. "[A lot of them] don't have jobs, they don't have programs to go to because everything's been shut down, so they've been in total isolation, and a lot of them have limited understanding of how that can affect them mentally and physically."

Training has been continuing in a virtual format as well. Two of the organization's athletes are preparing for the upcoming World Winter Games in Russia.

"They have been doing virtual training for a year, which has been really difficult because the coaches aren't allowed to be with them," McCarroll says. "So it's been a really tough year for them, so it would be great if they could start meeting in person."

With the province continuing to open more activities, including some outdoor sports resuming as part of step two, officials are currently planning a return to in-person training opportunities.

"We're hoping that we can provide some in-person training, depending on what that may look like," says Dawn Windross, the community coordinator for Special Olympics Barrie. "It may be a workout in the park; it may be training in person staggered throughout an evening so that people can have a chance to connect and start to train."

Windross says whatever decisions are made will be in line with public health guidance.