Estevan Special Olympics held the third annual softball game and a fundraiser at the Pleasantdale ball diamonds Sunday afternoon.
About 15 Special Olympics athletes teamed up with RCMP, CBSA and Estevan Police officers to play ball.
The money gained through barbecue fundraiser will help the Special Olympics athletes with their activities, training and games. They usually play bowling and do swimming in fall and Bocce in spring.
Don Cameron, who is a volunteer coach with Special Olympics, said the game-day turned out really great.
“We had lots of guys today. We got lots of law enforcement come out. Weather was good, we had a beautiful day today.”
There were quite a few spectators, cheering and supporting the players. Nobody was actually keeping the score, as the event was all about having a great, feel-good active time together.
Cameron explained that “like old school,” they just invited anyone from the Estevan law enforcement agencies and their families to join them for the game. A lot of people ended coming, which Cameron was really grateful for.
“You’ve seen a couple of little kids out there today, they were playing too,” said Cameron.
One of the local restaurants helped with the barbecue taking the pressure of Special Olympics volunteers’ shoulders. The money will be used to purchase equipment, T-shirts and sports accessories. Besides, such fundraisers help cover travel expenses if Special Olympics members participate in activities outside of Estevan. All money is used for the needs of the Estevan team.
“There are two groups, youth group and adult group. What we raise stays here in our community,” said Cameron.
Athletes tried to keep up with officers, so they played good and had lots of fun. And by the end of the day, they must have been quite tired.
“We do it once a year. They don’t play much ball, but they do well on the day like today. They give it 100 per cent or 110 per cent,” said Cameron.
Cameron also mentioned that looking forward they might try organizing floor hockey games for the Special Olympics team for winter.
The game was another success, so the coach hopes they will keep going with the tradition.
“I’ve asked one of the officers today, and they said they would be back next year and do the same thing again,” said Cameron. “I’m hoping to go yearly.”
He was thankful for all the volunteer help they had during the day and said, that if they had more people throughout the year, they probably could play ball more often. Anybody interested in volunteering can go to the Special Olympics website or email Cameron for more information.
Special Olympics will also participate in city-wide registration in fall, accepting new participants.
