Special Olympics Yukon 2014-15 Annual Report
(September 26, 2015)
President’s Message
Submitted September 26, 2015 by Tom Gibbs
It has been my pleasure to have been president of Special Olympics Yukon for the past
year. I am proud of what we have collectively accomplished in the last year:
-There were 89 Athletes and 79 sport volunteers participating in our programs and
initiatives
-24 Athletes and 13 Coaches and Mission Staff participated at the 2014 Special
Olympics Canada Summer Games held in Vancouver, BC. The team brought home
-37 Athletes and 12 coaches participated in the 7th Annual Development Games held
in December 2014
-For the first time ever, Special Olympics Yukon hosted a Heathly Athletes “Special
Smiles” clinic where all Development Games athletes participated
-The Development of a Rhythmic Gymnastics program. This brings our Community
Based program offerings up to 11 different sports
-The Special Olympics Yukon Athlete Ambassador program continues to shine, as over
15 presentations and speeches were given by Special Olympics Yukon athletes this
past year
- Fundraising was successful, having increased overall revenues from existing
events
The Law Enforcement Torch Run continues to grow, helping increase awareness
of Special Olympics in the territory and raising more money than ever before
Government relations are stronger than ever as we saw increases in funding from
civic, territorial and federal governments
I would like to thank all of our volunteers, coaches, special event staff and board of
directors for their commitment to Special Olympics Yukon. Without you, this
organization could not move forward as it has in the last twelve months.
In the next year, our chapter has some exciting projects to address:
SOY will continue efforts to accomplish the targets set out strategic plan for 20132017
SOY created a new partnership with a number of government agencies and nonprofit groups to offer ALL daycares in Yukon the opportunity to offer Active Start
programming in their centres.
SOY plans to offer FUNdamentals programming in elementary schools and Unified
Sport programming in the Secondary Schools
Law Enforcement Torch Run has a number of exciting events planned
Team Yukon will travel to Corner Brook, NL for the 2016 Special Olympics Canada
Winter Games
Looking into the future, I am confident that our organization will continue to enrich
the lives of Yukoners with an intellectual disability through sport.
Respectfully Submitted,
Tom Gibbs, President
Special Olympics Yukon
Executive Director’s Report
Submitted on September 26, 2015 by Serge Michaud
Administration
Special Olympics Yukon continues to be a Sport Governing Body in good standing with
Yukon’s government.
Staffing
Special Olympics Yukon employs Serge Michaud as Executive Director (Responsible for the
Administration, Marketing, Fundraising and Awareness of SOY and Janine Peters as
Program Director (responsible for all sport and program related activities of SOY).
Special Olympics Yukon (thanks to funding provided by Special Olympics Canada through
Sport Canada) also employs a part-time Administration, Marketing and Development
Coordinator (Sylvia Anderson) and a part-time Program Coordinator (Brettanie DealPorter)
Sport Yukon
Membership of Sport Yukon remains worthwhile for our organization. We continue to
receive occasional support from them with respect to administrative services. Use of the
board rooms and office equipment is an advantage of affiliation with Sport Yukon. Also,
inclusion in the annual Awards Banquet gives us great visibility within the sport
community.
Office
Special Olympics Yukon operates its own office space, located at 102-211 Hanson Street.
The mailing address remains 4061 4th Avenue, Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 1H1
Meetings, Conferences, Workshops
And Professional Development
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September 2014 Serge Michaud and Janine Peters attended the SOC Fall Business
Meetings held in Ottawa, ON
May 2015 Tom Gibbs attended the annual SO Canada President’s meetings held in
Toronto, ON.
May 2015 Serge Michaud and Janine Peters attended the 2015 SOC Spring Business
Meetings held in Corner Brook, NL. Janine Peters also attended the Chef Meetings for
the 2016 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games held in conjunction with the Spring
Business meetings
Janine Peters calls in for the Monthly National Sport Council Conference calls
Serge Michaud calls in for the Monthly Canadian Leadership Council Conference calls
Janine Peters and Brettanie Deal-Porter call in for regular youth development
conference calls
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Serge Michaud sits on the SOC Marketing and PR sub-committee of the Canadian
Leadership council (MARCOM)
Serge Michaud calls into the SOC Marketing conference calls
Serge Michaud was selected as 1 of 3 Canadian representatives on the North
American Leadership Council (NALC). This consists of bi-monthly conference calls as
well as 1-2 face-to-face meetings per year.
Fund Development
Fundraising activities this past year included:
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The 2014 Golf Gala Presented by Finning
2014 Tim Horton’s Cookie Campaign
2014 MEGA Giant Bingo
The 2015 Special Olympics Festival presented by Whitehorse Canadian Tire
Staples “Give a Toonie, Share a Dream” campaign
Donations continue to be offered to SOY from various groups and companies
Program and Initiatives Sponsorships included:
- Northwestel – Cross Country Skiing
- Northwestel – Development Games Presenting Sponsor
- Whitehorse Tim Horton’s – 5 Pin Bowling
- Yukon Energy Corporation – Youth Programs
- Whitehorse Lions Club – Swimming
Law Enforcement Torch Run initiatives included:
- Securing Whitehorse Home Hardware as their presenting sponsor
- Raffle and BBQ held during Home Hardware’s Annual Spring Tool Sale
- BBQ held at the Special Olympics Yukon Golf Gala
- Yukon Final Leg of the Torch Run including t-shirt sales
- Baking Auction at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre
Grants received this past year were:
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YG - YRAC – 23,000
City of Whitehorse Recreation Grant – 3,400
YTG Core funding - 24,455.00
Government of Canada youth development funding – 35,000
Government of Canada Program Funding – 55,391.66
SOC Athlete Leadership Grant – 1,800
SOC Healthy Athletes Grant – 5,000
YG - Moving to Inclusion – 5,000.00
YG - participation at S.O. Multi Sport Games – 17,500.00
I would like to thank the many volunteers
who assisted in holding these Fundraisers and Special Events!
Marketing / Public Awareness and Relations
Awareness/ Marketing opportunities that SOY took advantage of over the past year:
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Annual participation in the city of Whitehorse community registration fair
Youth development displays and community presentations, including 2 “see it, try it”
days
Various Newspaper and Radio ads (CKRW Drive at 5 ads) promoting Special Olympics
Yukon programs
Enhanced website and social networking presence (Facebook and Twitter)
Program Director’s Report
Submitted on September 26, 2015 by Janine Peters
Member Awards
Sport Yukon Member Awards will be presented in November with awards for the
following Special Olympics Yukon categories:
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Male Athlete of the Year
Female Athlete of the Year
Male Most Improved Athlete of the Year
Female Most Improved Athlete of the Year
Heather Miller Sport Volunteer of the Year
Lynne Smith Event Volunteer of the Year
Community Based Programs
Athletics
Sport Volunteers: Carmen Gustafson, Megan Klassen, Jerome McIntyre, Hans
Oettli, Dallas Smith
Totals for Fall/Winter = 2 sport volunteers, 6 athletes
Totals for Summer = 3 sport volunteers, 9 athletes
The Sprinting Salmon continues to work on running, jumping and throwing skills as
well as proper techniques for accomplishing those skills.
The highlight for this past year’s Athletics program was the 2014 Special Olympics
Canada Summer Games held in Vancouver, BC. Both Darby McIntyre and Jessica
Pruden brought home medals and personal best performances. As a result of his
stellar performance at these games, Darby McIntyre earned a spot on Team
Canada that will compete in the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in
July.
Bowling
Sport Volunteers: Dianne Canning, Graeme Campbell, Lee Pigage, Simon
Charles, Catherine Lyon
Totals = 5 sport volunteers, 36 athletes
The Gold Rush Rollers bowling program continues to be the largest registered
sport in Special Olympics Yukon, and the bowlers had another great season
ending with the Yukon Bowling Championships and a visit from Team Canada’s
Mark Tewksbury .
Given Whitehorse’s only bowling alley is closing their doors, we worked towards
developing the Bocce program into a year round sport to accommodate for the loss
of the Bowling program.
SOY sent 5 bowlers to the 2014 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games held in
Vancouver, BC and brought home a team silver medal, along with 3 individual
medals. This is the best ever result for a Yukon bowling team at a National
Championship, generic sport or otherwise.
The Bowling program would like to thank Whitehorse Tim Horton’s for its continued
support.
Bocce
Sport Volunteers: Dianne Canning, Deb Sumner, Leah Greenway, Janice Moor,
Jenelle Greenway, Catherine Lyon, Esther Chasse
Totals = 7 sport volunteers, 23 athletes
Bocce has grown into the largest summer sport Special Olympics Yukon offers.
The program now trains and competes at Selkirk Elementary School as it outgrew
its previous training location at Jim Light Park.
The athletes continue to learn a bit about strategiestowards a successful bocce
match and apply these learnings into actual matches throughout the season.
The bocce program sent its first ever team to the Special Olympics Canada
Summer Games in July 2014 and came back with a bronze medal for their efforts!
Curling
Sport Volunteers: Deb Sumner, Elaine Sumner, James Roddick, Peter Harris
Totals = 4 sport volunteers, 8 athletes
The Chilkoot Sweepers focused on the continual understanding of general curling
rules and how games are played. New athletes joined the curling program after the
Development Games took place in December 2014.
The SOY program team along with the curling program coaches and athletes made
the decision not to send a team to the 2015 Special Olympics BC Winter Games as
they did not feel they were prepared to compete. That said, plans are already afoot
to prepare a team for the 2019 SOBC Winter Games to qualify for the 2020 SOC
Winter Games.
Cross Country Skiing
Sport Volunteers: Helen Slama, Jerome McIntyre, Jim Hawkings, Lee Hawkings
Totals = 4 sport volunteers, 3 athletes
This was an important year for The Nordic. All 3 athletes were chosen to represent
Yukon at the SOBC Winter Games held in Kamloops this past February. Training
for the Games was the priority for this ski season.
During the SOBC Games, All three athletes posted personal best performances
and as a result, all 3 athletes qualified to participate in the 2016 Special Olympics
Canada Winter Games to be held in Corner Brook, NL this coming winter.
The ski program would like to thank Northwestel for its continued support.
Figure Skating
Sport Volunteers: Esther Chasse, Tanya Sage, Michelle Semaschuk, Charlene
Donald, Catherine Lyon, Dallas Smith, Alex deBruyn
Totals 7 sport volunteers, 11 athletes
The Ice Cutters had a great winter. This program continues to be our most popular
winter sport in terms of registrations.
Skill development and the challenge to all skaters to push themselves to take on a
new skill were the focus for last year. This focus saw Michael Sumner became the
first SOY athlete to graduate into level 2.
Michael was joined by Tijana McCarthy, Aimee Lien and Theresa Roberts at the
2015 SOBC Winter Games. The results from these games saw Michael and Tijana
qualify for the 2016 SOC Winter Games this coming February. This is the first time
since 2008 that For the first time since 2008 that 2 SOY athletes qualify for
Nationals. , but with an infusion of a few new athletes – and many of the athlete’s
skill levels rose dramatically.
The highlight of the year was the programs’ participation in the annual Skating
Show/Carnival, and this year’s theme was a tribute to the 60’s.
Golf
Sport Volunteers: Charlene Donald, Simon Charles, Catherine Lyon, Ben Pereira ,
Danny Guhl
Totals = 5 sport volunteers, 13 athletes
The Golf program continues to be a popular choice among SOY athletes. Athletes
honed their skills on the putting green and driving range, and then got the chance
to show off what they had learned over a series of on-course sessions.
On course clinic sessions were provided by Mountain View Golf Course Pro
Graham Frey, and the athletes learned some great new skills. Chipping, putting,
and driving, and course etiquette.
They also got some time at Meadow Lakes Golf Resort on Sunday evenings with a
chance to perfect the lessons they learned earlier on in the week.
The golf program would like to thank the City of Whitehorse for its support through
the Community Recreation Fund.
Soccer/Floor Hockey
Sport Volunteers: Natalie Taylor, Ken Binns, Jodi Binns, Stacey Bowden, Paula
Sampson, Myles Murphy
Totals for fall/winter = 4 sport volunteers, 12 athletes
Totals for summer = 5 sport volunteers, 10 athletes
Motivated by Team Yukon’s Soccer Gold Medal victory last summer at the 2014
Special Olympics Canada Games, The Charging Moose continues to focus on
overall skill development, teamwork as well as game play situations. The team also
started the transition from the “5 a side” format to the “7 a side” format, which is
now the standard for Special Olympics in Canada.
For the 10th year, the team enjoyed opportunities to play against Whitehorse Minor
Soccer’s U-12 teams. The traditional year-end game against their parents and
caregivers was fun as always.
The floor hockey component is a new addition as a cross-training tool for the
soccer athletes. The concept is to give the soccer athletes more training and
competition opportunities, including the prospect of sending a Floor Hockey team
to 2019 SOBC Winter Games.
Swimming
Sport Volunteers: Marilyn Lawrence, Annie-Claude Letendre, Kathryn Kimber,
Annie Pellicano, Phil Whiles, Leah Greenway, Jenelle Greenway,
(mother/daughter duo) Kathryn LeBlanc, Rachelle Kranenburg
Totals = 9 sport volunteers, 19 athletes
The Killer Whales and the Sharks continued working on their swim skills. For
some, it could mean working towards independence in the deep end of the pool.
For others, it may be working towards an increase in stamina/number of laps
completed.
Both Swim programs would like to thank the Whitehorse Lions Club for their
sponsorship of Special Olympics Yukon swimming.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Sport Volunteers: Marney Paradis, Marilyn Lawrence, Deb Sumner, Yves Paradis
Totals = 9 sport volunteers, 10 athletes
Special Olympics Yukon’s newest sport has quickly become a favorite of our
athletes. An introduction to the sport and learning some of the basic skills and
movements was an important first step to the development of this new program.
Long time Special Olympics Manitoba Rhythmic Gymnastics coach Susan Lamboo
visited the program in March and offered our athletes and coaches instruction and
guidance for the program.
School Based Programs
This year there were 8 schools (34 athletes) registered in the School Based
program. Like previous years, the athletes practice for four weeks and then an
inter-school meet is held where athletes compete against their peers and other
schools. Students trained and competed in Bocce, Speed Skating, Soccer,
Swimming, Athletics and Bowling.
Golden Horn Elementary has joined our roster of Schools that participate in the
School Based program.
Youth Programs - Active Start and FUNdamentals
Sport Volunteers: 2 -5 Stephanie Wilson, Charlene Donald, Annie Claude
Letendre and Sophie Jessome
Totals = 4 sport volunteers, 7 athletes
Active Start is a dynamic program that uses sport through play to physically
engage younger children aged 4-7. This program aims to involve the whole family
in the world of sport and physical activity and is a great stepping stone into a life of
health, fitness and sport.
FUNdamentals builds off of the Active Start program, providing children aged 8 –
12 years old with basic sport skills before they enter the Special Olympics
community based programming.
We ran this year as a hybrid of the 2 programs to accommodate the range in
registrants’ ages.
We offered 2 “See it, Try it” days to hopefully garner some more potential young
athletes. Three new athletes did register for the spring season.
Athlete Ambassador Program
This program provides athletes with training in delivering speeches and
presentations and then provides them with opportunities throughout the year to
show off their skills at SOY events. Other training components included in the
program are media and social media training as well as sessions on governance.
The six athletes currently taking part are: Mallory Pigage, Michael Sumner, Gaetan
Michaud, Carrie Rudolph, Aimee Lien, and Darby McIntyre. All 6 athletes are now
fully trained athlete ambassadors.
This past year, over 15 speeches and presentations were made by our athlete
amabassadors.
Games and Competition
2014 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games
24 athletes, 8 coaches and 5 mission staff competed at the Summer Games held
in Vancouver, BC in July 2014. Athletes participated in Soccer, Athletics,
Swimming, Bocce, Golf and 5 Pin Bowling. Over 20 personal best performances
and 14 medals were earned by Team Yukon.
Highlights of these games included:
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Over 20 personal and team best performances
14 medals earned by Team Yukon
This was the first time ever that SOY sends bocce and golf athletes team
out of the territory to compete.
First time a Yukon soccer team wins gold at a National Competition, generic
sport or otherwise
First time a Yukon bowling team has ever won a team medal at a National
Competition, generic sport or otherwise
Athletics athlete Darby McIntyre was chosen to represent Canada at the
2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games; first time in 31 years has a
Yukoner made the Summer Games team.
2015 Special Olympics BC Winter Games – 7 Athletes, 2 Coaches and 1
Mission Staff and 1 Chef de Mission, participated at the Games held in Kamloops
BC. Athletes competed in Figure Skating and Cross Country Skiing. Each athlete
on Team Yukon 15 earned a personal best performance and collectively brought
home 5 medals.
Highlights of these games included:
-Michael Sumner wins SILVER in Men's Level 2...This is Michael's first ever
competition in Level 2.
-Tijana McCarthy wins SILVER in Ladies Level 1...her first ever out-of-territory
competition in the sport of Figure Skating.
-Aimee Lien wins BRONZE in Ladies Level 1...Her first Figure Skating competition
in 7 years.
-Darby McIntyre wins GOLD in Men's top division for the 5km...his second GOLD
medal of the games.
Development Games
SOY hosted the annual Winter Development Games presented by Northwestel on
December 12-13. 37 Athletes and 12 coaches participated. The opening
ceremonies took place on Friday evening that saw athletes, coaches, dignitaries,
families and friends take in wonderful entertainment and inspiring speeches. The
Law Enforcement Torch Run closed the evening while bringing in the Flame of
Hope.
Saturday saw the athletes participate in curling and 7 a-side soccer clinics and a
friendly bocce competition. Also featured at the games was “Special Smiles”, a
healthy athletes initiative that saw all participating athletes go through basic dental
examinations.
The closing dinner and Christmas party took place on Saturday evening at the
Yukon Inn where athletes danced the night away in celebration of a terrific
weekend.
Coach Education
Our coaches took part in a range of professional development opportunities
throughout the year. Several updated their first aid and CPR certifications, while
others took part in NCCP coaching certifications including Theory Parts A and B
and Special Olympics Canada’s Competition Coach Course.
In March, a Rhythmic Gymnastics clinic/seminar was offered by long time SO
Manitoba Rhythmic Gymnastics Coach Susan Lamboo.