Responsive Menu
Logo for SelfAdvocateNet featuring a drawing of the Earth surrounded by people holding hands. Text reads, SelfAdvocateNet and Our Voice, Our Strength in bold letters.
Red text on a transparent background reads A BIG Thanks to our Sponsors! in a bold, cursive font.
A top-view of a wooden desk with a coffee cup, notepad, pen, smartphone, and sticky notes. In the center, a world map with the text Whats your story? is written in a cursive font.

BC Special Olympics Newsletter September, 2025

Red banner with the Special Olympics British Columbia logo and text that reads Special Olympics British Columbia Newsletter.

Announcing the Special Olympics Team BC 2026 Training Squad!

Blue graphic with BC and a yellow dot, wavy lines, and text: TEAM BC SPECIAL OLYMPICS BRITISH COLUMBIA above 2026 with the Special Olympics logo, set against a starry background.

We’re delighted to share the accomplished members named to the Special Olympics Team BC 2026 Training Squad! This provincial team is comprised of more than 205 athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities, 73 volunteer coaches, and 18 mission staff, from more than 42 communities across British Columbia. They qualified through their performances at the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games in Prince George.

Congratulations to all these dedicated individuals who will work toward competing with pride at the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat, Alberta, from August 11 to 15, 2026!

“The athletes selected for the #SOTeamBC2026 Training Squad have shown incredible determination, and I know they’ll bring that same drive as they prepare for the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games. I can’t wait to cheer them on as they push for personal bests in Medicine Hat.”

-Michelle Cruickshank, Chef de Mission for Special Olympics Team BC 2026

More sport & program opportunities

Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak headlines Sports Celebrities Festival supporting Special Olympics BC

A female swimmer in a swim cap and goggles smiles near a pool. Text invites viewers to a night of inspiration and inclusion with keynote speaker Penny Oleksiak, Canadas most decorated female Olympian. Logos and event details are visible.

Special Olympics BC is excited to welcome Olympic swimming champion Penny Oleksiak as the keynote speaker at the 2025 Sports Celebrities Festival presented by Wheaton Precious Metals! The inspiring gala has raised vital funds for Special Olympics BC athletes and programs for 27 years.

Penny is Canada’s most decorated female Olympian since capturing four medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where she became the youngest Canadian to win Olympic gold, and earning three more medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After overcoming an injury, Penny is now feeling better than ever as she trains toward the LA 2028 Olympics. Penny has been a valued member of the Special Olympics Canada Champions Network for a number of years, helping advance the movement and mission.

The Sports Celebrities Festival is known for its powerful demonstration of inclusion and respect for athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The 2025 gala will bring together champions of inclusion from across the B.C. sport and business world with Special Olympics athletes on October 23.

More fundraising & awareness opportunities

  • Don’t miss out on the chance to win big and strengthen inclusion for athletes with intellectual disabilities with the purchase of Split the Pot Lottery tickets in support of Special Olympics BC! Thank you for spreading the word about this opportunity with your network.

Health Highlight

Two women with Down syndrome exercise together in a gym, smiling at the camera while balancing on one leg. Other people are visible working out in the background.

Are you looking for ways to exercise, focus on healthier eating, or motivate yourself to stay hydrated at home?

Check out the Special Olympics Fit 5 guide, a toolkit created with athletes, for athletes! Inside, you will find fitness cards, videos, nutrition tips ,and more for athletes of all abilities. The guide is based on the three simple goals:

🏃‍♂️ Exercising five days per week
🍎 Eating five total fruits and vegetables per day
💧Drinking five water bottles of water per day

The guide makes being healthy simple and fun, and can improve your health and fitness to make you the best athlete you can be!

More health opportunities

Story Spotlight

Two women, one wearing a red hat and jacket, the other in glasses and a blue jacket, smile and hug. The image promotes National Coaches Week for Special Olympics BC with the hashtag #ThanksCoach.

In National Coaches Week and all year round, we sincerely thank all of the dedicated Special Olympics BC coaches who contribute countless hours of their time and talents to empower athletes with intellectual disabilities and build inclusion and opportunities all across our province!

Sheri Lucas, SOBC – Victoria coach and BC Law Enforcement Torch Run champion, has supported Special Olympics BC for more than 26 years. After retiring from policing, Sheri jumped into coaching swimming, bocce, and Club Fit, and brought her family with her! Her daughter Ryleigh now volunteers with swimming, and her husband Paul Lamoureux, also a retired law enforcement member, volunteers with Club Fit.

“Throughout my interactions with Special Olympics athletes, I have learned about team spirit, determination, positive attitudes, friendship, and how all of these things can help overcome anything, both on and off a playing field.”

-Sheri Lucas, SOBC – Victoria coach and BC LETR champion

Heartfelt thanks to all of Special Olympics BC’s valued coaches for your life-changing impact! Check out our website and social media accounts for more stories about the inspiring coaches who make Special Olympics BC possible.

Enjoy more Special Olympics BC stories 🙌

Stay connected for Special Olympics BC stories, news, and more:

Red play button icon on a white background, resembling the YouTube logo. A bold, white letter X on a solid black background, featuring straight, clean lines with slightly stylized angles. Blue square with a white lowercase f in the center, representing the Facebook logo. The Instagram logo: a white outline of a classic camera on a gradient background shifting from yellow to pink to purple. LinkedIn logo: A white lowercase in on a solid blue square background. Icon of a globe with blue grid lines representing the earth, featuring a yellow rectangle in the center displaying WWW in blue. This symbolizes the World Wide Webs power to connect and self-advocate for inclusivity and DiversAbility on a global scale.

  

Special Olympics BC
210-3701 Hastings St.
Burnaby, B.C.   V5C 2H6
1-888-854-2276
info@specialolympics.bc.ca
www.specialolympics.bc.ca

Share  Tweet   Share  Forward

Share:

More Posts

BC Provincial Election 2026

SelfAdvocatenet BC Election Page 2026  Here is a page on about  BC Provincial Election 2026  what you will need to know to go out vote Party Platforms from  BC New Democrats Party Platform BC Conservatives  Party Platform One BC Party Platform  BC Green Party Platform  Centre BC Party  

Logo featuring four abstract human figures in alternating blue and green, forming a circle. Below the figures, the text reads Community Living British Columbia.

A New Five Year Blueprint for Change on Home Sharing

Self Advocates Attention on Home Share Changes  Highlighting  this for Self Advocates  that basing it on in the plan  Throughout this work, self-advocates consistently described what matters most: • “People make sure I’m okay and that my home is safe.” • “People notice what’s not working and fix it so I can do well.” • “If something goes wrong, someone will look into it quickly and it gets fixed.” • “The people who work with me have the skills to

Community Living Month Oct 2026

October 2026 has been proclaimed Community Inclusion Month in British Columbia, recognizing the importance of building communities where everyone has the opportunity to belong, participate, and thrive. The proclamation is an important statement of what an inclusive province should look like: a place where everyone has opportunity, choice and control in their own lives, and where people with disabilities are welcomed as full and valued members of their communities. But a proclamation is only the beginning. The real work of

Send Us A Message

Logo for SelfAdvocateNet featuring a drawing of the Earth surrounded by people holding hands. Text reads, SelfAdvocateNet and Our Voice, Our Strength in bold letters.
Red text on a transparent background reads A BIG Thanks to our Sponsors! in a bold, cursive font.
A top-view of a wooden desk with a coffee cup, notepad, pen, smartphone, and sticky notes. In the center, a world map with the text Whats your story? is written in a cursive font.
Scroll to Top