Fees waived for all Special Olympics athletes in Kelowna

Special Olympics athletes took to the pool at the Parkinson Rec Centre in Kelowna Wednesday evening for their weekly practice.

“I do the 400-meter free, which is 16 lengths in the pool,” said athlete Kelsey Wyse.

Wyse has been with the program, run by the Kelowna chapter of Special Olympics B.C., for a long time, having competed at both Special Olympics summer and winter games.

“I do two sports,” Wyse told Global News. “Mostly my swimming is my number one and I also do cross-country skiing.”

Athletes like Wyse will have easier access to the program, now that they won’t have to pay to take part.

“We accept anybody with an intellectual disability,” said Leo Rutledge, coordinator with Special Olympics B.C. Kelowna.”Some of our athletes pay $800 a year to participate in sport.”

However, those fees will be waived from now on.

“The committee unanimously passed that we provide sport free to all athletes going forward,” Rutledge told Global News. “We felt as a committee that we could help improve their quality of life … and letting them use the limited funds they have elsewhere.”

The athlete fees were used to help cover the program’s costs, namely venues.

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Last year, the program cost around $86,000 to run.

But with the fees being eliminated, more fundraising will be needed to keep the program going.

“We need to fundraise more, so, part of today is just reaching out to the business community and saying we’re open for business,” said Matt Landry, local fundraising coordinator. “We want to partner, we have some great opportunities to support a great cause.”

Landry said that all the money raised within the community stays in the community.

“What we’re really trying to dig into over the next year is how we can raise money locally,” Landry said. “Everything that we raise through our own events, stays with our athletes and funds our local programs. So we’re pretty passionate about raising money locally.”

The funds provide athletes with a lot more than just a chance to be active.

“It’s made me be more confident,” said athlete Danny Sperling. “I can do things and it made me meet new people that are similar to my disability and not get bugged or teased like in high school or junior high when I was growing up and bullied.”

The Kelowna chapter of Special Olympics B.C. has a number of fundraisers planned including a golf tournament, polar plunge and walkathon to help raise much-needed funds.

You can go to their website for more information.