Celebrating Inclusion The Road to the Special Olympics

The countdown begins! Just 6 months until the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games take over Medicine Hat!  This exciting event, which celebrates athletes with intellectual disabilities, is not only significant for the participants but also promises a lasting impact on the community. Today on Bring Back the Porch, we delve into the unique journey that led Medicine Hat to this momentous occasion, highlighting the dedication of volunteers, the economic benefits for the city, and the inspiring stories that make the Special Olympics so special.

The journey to hosting the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games began back in 2018 when Kara Brake, Games Manager, attended the Sports Event Congress in Halifax. There, he had the opportunity to meet with national sport organizations and learned about the potential of bringing the games to Medicine Hat. With previous experience hosting the Alberta Winter Games and the Special Olympics Provincial Games, the city had already established itself as a capable host. After extensive planning and a successful bid, Medicine Hat was awarded the games set for August 2026. However, the path was not without its challenges, as the 2022 games were initially canceled due to health concerns during the pandemic.

One of the standout features of the upcoming games is the incredible volunteer spirit in Medicine Hat. Both Brian and Kara, emphasize how essential volunteers are to the success of the event. With around 400 volunteers already signed up, the community is coming together to support the athletes and showcase their city’s hospitality. The volunteers are the backbone of the organization, ensuring that everything runs smoothly and that the athletes feel welcomed and appreciated.

The Special Olympics Canada Summer Games are expected to have a significant economic impact on Medicine Hat, estimated to bring in between $12 million and $14 million over the course of just seven days. Events like these not only boost local businesses but also put the city on the map, attracting future residents and investors. The organizers are keen to ensure that the games leave a lasting legacy, showcasing Medicine Hat as a great place to live and work.

At the heart of the Special Olympics is the celebration of sportsmanship and inclusion. The podcast highlights heartwarming stories of athletes who demonstrate true sportsmanship, such as competitors helping each other up after a fall during a race. These moments exemplify the spirit of the games, emphasizing that it’s not just about winning but about supporting one another and fostering community. Brian and Kara encourage everyone, not just volunteers, to come out and witness the inspiring performances and dedication of the athletes.

The Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat represent more than just a sporting event; they are a celebration of inclusion, community spirit, and economic opportunity. The hard work of volunteers and organizers is a testament to the dedication of the community, and the event promises to bring not only joy to the athletes but also prosperity to the city. As we look forward to the games, it’s a reminder of the power of sport to unite and inspire.

00:00 Introduction to the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games
02:45 The Journey to Hosting the Games
05:55 Economic Impact on Medicine Hat
09:02 Volunteer Engagement and Community Involvement
12:11 Athlete Experience and Community Spirit
15:02 Event Logistics and Accommodations
18:09 Closing Thoughts and Future Aspirations

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Transcript

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Hey, this is Brian again. And I'd like to ask you to do a favor. We can't do this work without people like you. So if you can, please. Like, share, subscribe, tell your friends about bring back the porch. There's a lot of people that are behind the scenes that need to get the credit, because we've got a great volunteer base and people that are dedicated to doing these kinds of things and putting their time in for all this. And and we couldn't ask for anything more. So it's, it's good that it's going to happen soon because I think some of the people are going to take a big sigh of relief when this does come. And it does go, because we've been planning it for so long. This episode of Bring Back the Porch, brought to you by Bernie Leahy, River Street Realty. Let's get you home. I think it's appropriate that we get together this morning with, Brian Varga and Kara Brake to talk about the Special Olympics Canada Summer games. I say it's appropriate today because as we sit down this morning, we are six months away from the start of the games on August the 11th. That's crazy how the time has gone. I mean, we've been in this for a long time, so it's been a long time since we started this process, and we're glad that it's finally close to where it's been, even though there's a ton of work left to do. But we're looking forward to it. I was just wondering, I guess that's a little hard. I was just. Wondering. Mr.. Thanks for the reminder. I started here, and it's also appropriate to because as we are talking, the Olympics, Winter Olympics are on right now in in Italy. So we're in the Olympic spirit. We are. Absolutely. How did Medicine Hat come to you when these games? Go ahead. Okay. Yeah, it's been a long process. So it actually started with myself. I went to the sports event Congress, back in 2018, in Halifax, and, I part of that conference. So you have an opportunity to sit one on one with some national sport organizations. And so I had signed up for a bunch. I had no idea what I was getting into and had the opportunity to sit down with a guy named Blair McIntosh. And, so we sat down and he explained what the games were, and I explained a little bit about Medicine Hat, and he said, you know, I think, I think we could do it there. This sounds really interesting. And we had just hosted the 2016 Alberta Winter games and the 2017 Special Olympics provincial Games. And so we were right in that, time frame of of loving to host multi-sport games. And so I came back to the games organizing committee and the Games Society and said, hey, what if we did this? And I took a look at it, got the city approval to put a bid in, and and we did. We ended up, touring them around all of our facilities. It was a great experience. And we're awarded the 2022 games. Then comes something that happened in 2020 and, yeah. And, so we took a look at that and said, you know, based on restrictions that were still happening and, and a lot of the athletes come with some health concerns that we didn't want to have an event that could end up compromising anybody. And so we decided to cancel the games in 2022. And it was a straight out cancellation. It wasn't a postponement at that time. And then, in 2023, I believe it was. We actually had the opportunity to rebid on 2026. And so we first right of refusal, we updated our bid, updated the budget a little bit and and submitted for 2026 and were awarded those games. So it's been a long time coming. We I always joke that it's the games that are never going to happen. And then you say something like, they're six months out and they are happening for sure. Now you are veterans of putting on events like this, and I think that helps me. Not so much. But care has been involved for a lot of years with whether it be small games or any kind of games in the southern part of Alberta, that, care has been involved with them, and you need that experience in order to move forward into hosting these big games. Right? So and don't get me wrong, there's a lot of people that are behind the scenes that need to get the credit because we've got a great volunteer base and people that are dedicated to doing these kinds of things and putting their time in for all this. And, and we couldn't ask for anything more. So it's, it's good that it's going to happen soon, because I think some of the people are gonna take a big sigh of relief when this does come. And it does go, because we've been planning it for so long. So you've got people in place, to do all kinds of different things, and they've probably done it before. So they're comfortable with what they have to do. Yeah, we've got a board of about 16 people. I would say majority of them have done some type of games or, or not. Brian was actually our chair of the provincial games back in 2017. So he says he hasn't been involved as much, but he has. He did get to go to Thunder Bay as well, to check out what the games would be. And we all a lot of us got a chance to go to the games in 2024 in Calgary. So yeah, we've got a great group of individuals that have been a part of this process for a very long time. We actually haven't lost many over the last eight years, which is insane to think. Yeah, eight years. I think I did the best there. Right? Yeah. Right. And but yeah, it's we, we've got great people and the nice thing about Medicine Hat is people always step up and and what we hear from national organizations quite often is that we're kind of an anomaly in that lots of times, a games like this or something like that is more staff driven than volunteer driven, where we're kind of the opposite as we get this board that comes forward and says, we got this, we're going to do it. And then we hire some, staff to support those those directors and so it's a little bit different than some other games that have been held. How important are these games economically for the City of Medicine Hat? Put your counselor hat on. We've been talking for this for years now. Right. So and and Kara was involved with this with, with doing economic studies and finding out what it's worth. So, the last I think we've had between 12 and $14 million, it's going to impact our city for seven days. So that's a huge impact to our community. And and we're happy that it's happening. Anytime we can host a games or any kind of cultural event or sporting event, any kind of event that we host in our city is benefiting our community. So this one's a huge one because it's a national event and we're looking forward to doing that. And hopefully people step up and help out with it because it is a big economic impact. So we want to show our we want to show our face as a, as a great place to be. And who knows, maybe somewhere down the road people think that they can come live in Medicine Hat. That's the key. And when was talking with Al Sharma, we were talking about that how somebody can just innocently come here for an event or whatever and look around and go, I need to investigate this more. Yeah, well, I think the good part about our community is it's so close, people can't get over how close everything is, that it takes 15 minutes to get from the north to the south, or from this venue to that venue, or to this sporting event, to that sporting event, so they can go to to any event real easy and not where you have to drive for an hour in Calgary, or drive for an hour and a half to get their Medicine Hat. So convenient for that. And I think that's what the people see when they come to our city. That holy cow, you guys got everything here. It doesn't take me long to get to where I have to be, and we're happy to to be in it. The climate's always nice as it is right now, outside. And then people can't understand that. Why is it so warm here? My mom even gets upset with that in Regina because we're 20 degrees warmer than they are in Regina, so it's a great place to live. Well, as I told Mayor Clark back in December, and she actually wrote it on the board in her, office, outside her office. You can live better in Medicine Hat. And I told her there's a slogan you can take and run with it. No charge. There you go. I think the other thing that's cool, too, is it's not just about the family and friends and the athletes that are coming here. There's gonna be a lot of national, like, CEOs and things like that coming from, whether that they sponsored National Special Olympics or they sponsor our games and so we've got business people that are also coming to Medicine Hat. So it's not just about, showing everybody your community mean that's always one number, one priority, right? Is showing our hospitality and showing how great our city is. But it's also the potential of bringing businesses here. And so if we can bring in a CEO from a large company that says, you know what, I really like the people that are here. I like the spaces that we have. It's, inexpensive to live here or to operate a business in here. So we're constantly thinking about that as well. Is there a chance during the games to schmooze with these people? There is, yes. I think I think that's part of our role as, as a board that that will do whatever we can to, to do some of that during that time that they're here. And I think I don't only it's fitting for us to do that, to represent our city and, and be proud of where we are. Sponsorships. It's another big area. Yeah. You I see on your web page that you are still looking for sponsors. We are still. Yeah. So when we first put in the bid for these games, our budget was 2.5 million. We are now sitting at 3.8 million. So it's gone up significantly. We've had some amazing sponsors, that have come forward so far, which we appreciate so much. The government of Alberta has been super supportive. The City of Medicine Hat has been our biggest partner in being able to supply some venues at no cost and and things like that. But, yeah, our fundraising goal was still just short of $1 million, which is a lot to raise for a small community like ours. And so I think as of yesterday, we were 180,000 short of our fundraising goal. We've got still some irons in the fire. So we're hoping some things come forward. And, and we're reaching out to a bunch of different businesses. And so a lot of companies aren't able to kind of support financially, but they can support in-kind. And whether that's giving us 50% of off of something that we need to purchase or, being able to offer their services in-kind. And so we've reached out to a lot of those companies or a lot of companies have come forward and said, you know what, I can't give you $5,000 cash, but I can give you $5,000 worth of, of services or something like that, which is just as good as cash. If not volunteers. You say you've got lots, but do you have enough? Yeah. Well, we're starting that process. And I think right now I think we're up at 300 or close to 400 volunteers that have signed up. This is a community that comes through in the end all the time. It seems to be, they always answer the bell. So I know that they're out there and they want to be part of this. So, I'm hoping that they step up and I'm sure they will like, they always do. And there's a lot of people out there that want to be involved in this. And I say, you want to be involved in this one because it's it is special. Yeah. They are the athletes. Make it special. They do. Yeah. I, I was saying earlier, before we started here, I, I had to get involved. So I actually wasn't working in this position when I obviously a couple of years ago. And, and I went to the games in 2024 in Calgary and left those games going, oh my gosh, I need to apply for this games manager position because it is it's so heartwarming. We saw those games, athletes that would be in first place. And the second player sorry athletes that would be in second place. The first place person would fall and they would have the opportunity to take first place and instead they would stop, help their their competitor get up, and then they would go and finish this finish line together or cheering for each other or just excited to have a TV interview or something like that. These athletes embody every part of sport and what it means to be involved in sport, and it is so heartwarming. It's so, yeah, it's just great. I can't speak highly enough about these games, and it is an opportunity for everybody in our community to get involved. And even if you don't want to volunteer, come out and watch. Just be a part of the event. It's going to take over. The city is over that week, and, we're excited to share it with Lynnette Schneider was telling us earlier that when I think it was 2016, when he had the Alberta Winter Special Olympic Winter games, here she was watching a basketball game, and when somebody made a basket, players on both sides cheer. They were so happy that somebody made a basket and, you know, sportsmanship at the utmost. You never helped anybody from another team when you played. I don't. Think so. I don't remember doing that unless they were, unless they were really hurt. Yeah. So but know that the spirit of the games is perfect. And they don't forget you either. If you talk to them and you give them a name, they'll they'll say that. And I had that when I went to, Grande Prairie. I went to a banquet, and when we came back to Medicine Hat for the summer games. They knew who I was. Yeah, they remembered my name, and they said, I remember you from way back when, when I was at the other game. So. And most of them play multiple sports, so they play summer and they play winter. So. So it's fun to watch them because you see them and and you get to know them and they don't forget you. Yeah. Just to close the books on volunteers, how do they sign up and what can they sign up for? Oh gosh. We have kind of everything. So we have shifts available in all of the sports. We're hosting ten different sports. We're going to need help from our food services to drivers to, helping out with, setting up hotel like accommodation sites. We've got you name it, we've got it. And so lots of different opportunities. Best way to find out is to just go to our website, which is Sok Medhat 2026. Okay. And then there's a tab where you can volunteer and, it lists out all of the different things that we're looking for. And where are the venues? We've got powerlifting, powerlifting, and we've got, athletics at the track that we've named all ten. Yeah. So the venues are getting well and we have great venues. Don't get me wrong. We've got great venues. I mean, the people that come here are going to be happy with what we have and and they're well looked after and our track is, is second to none now with, with all the renovations they've done there over the years and and they're going to enjoy that one too. Right. So, so the hub is around, the leisure center. And again, we're going to have a lot of people around there with five sports going on. So it's going to be a busy place. So, hopefully we have enough parking. I was going to say parking the logistics to get people around. Do you want to volunteer to help with parking? Yeah, we definitely need some volunteers there for six. It looks like Lisa, but it's it's a great opportunity for for our city to shine. And the spectators, will there be an admission there's not. No. So a great thing about this event is everything is free, including the opening ceremonies. So the only thing that people would have to pay for is if they want to, we're going to be hopefully starting a 5050 soon so you can kind of support the games that way. We'll have some merchandise sales and stuff like that. But other than that, everybody can come to to everything, which we think is really cool too. Okay. Yeah. I think I think the opening ceremonies is an important part for us because it is a big event. All the athletes are going to be coming in, and hopefully they can get that Medicine Hat cheer going with. With all the athletes coming in, there's going to be 1700 athletes coming also to this game. So there's a lot of people from all over the country that are going to be here. So hopefully we can have a great, Medicine Hat welcome for them on that first day when they're opening ceremonies. Where are the opening ceremonies? They're going to be a Co-Op Clo-Op Place. Oh, good. Yeah. Right. On August 11th. It's like I said, free. We are looking at kind of like, maybe a registration system. So we know kind of how many people want to come so that we've get way more than capacity. We can offer some other things to, to be able to for people to see the opening ceremonies. Okay. And the athletes are coming from. Every province. Every province and territory. And. Territory. Yeah. So they Special Olympics does the things a little bit different. They have 12 chapters. So there's actually not a chapter assigned to of Nunavut. Any athletes that are coming from Nunavut. it either competes with a province or another territory. So yes, we have 12 different chapters and, and we've got, I know off the top of my head we have, 450 coming from Ontario. We've got about 380 from B.C. we've got athletes coming from, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and P.E.I., so literally everybody across the province or across the country. And yeah, we're just really excited to welcome them. We've everything we're also doing is bilingual. So it is a national event. And so we've recruited some bi lingual volunteers. Again, that's an area where if somebody does speak fluent French, we're happy to have you involved in these games. Because we have a lot of people coming from Quebec. So. Okay, good. Yeah. The logo is something that is hold special meaning to. Yeah, yeah. So logo is, was designed locally here in Medicine Hat. It, looking at my chest kind of here. But it embodies different parts of, of the games. And so, on our kind of I don't know if I will. Try and put that up. Okay. Cool. But on the circle you can see there's the teepee. If you actually see it's also a person running. So the head is the moon there. Okay. And then you can see the person, the stars represent the gold, silver, bronze. The waves are, represent the river and also the, the lines that are in the TV. There's the coolies in there. So it's really embodies medicine hat, but also Special Olympics. And there's special colors in there. Too, that there are. Yeah. That kind of correspond with with the things that are in the logo. Okay. Anything else you want to touch on before we wrap up? No, we're just six months to get ready. So I do want to hold you to. It's not a long time. I mean, with with the amount of things that are going on. And I'm thankful for the staff that are doing all the work that's going on here, because it's every day is a busy day and things have to get done. And, and timelines are running, running short now. So, some things are moving along easy, some aren't. But we're going to get there. We seem to be doing okay within the office. Had a good talk with them the other day just to check in with them to make sure that that everything's going well. And it is you're always going to have things that happen that we might or unexpected, but I think we've had lots of them already over the past year or so that that have been going on. So I think we're ready for anything. No. And we're looking forward to the games coming. Yeah. Any athletes from Medicine Hat? Yeah. Hometown advantage. We do have five athletes from Medicine Hat for competing bocce and one competing in bocce. In bocce? Yes. And and one in bowling I believe. And so yeah, super excited to have them on board. And then the other thing that we're doing that I think is really neat is, actually tomorrow night we have an information meeting we've hired on, six different athlete ambassadors. So these are local athletes that didn't necessarily qualify for the National Games. So we're bringing on a staff. And so one of the things we've talked about is we don't want to plan anything in these games without input from athletes. And so we've had the athletes help us pick a slogan. We've had them pick, help us pick some athlete bags and all of the different things that that their, friends and, and, I guess competitor competitors and classmates, the competitors are going to come and experience. And so, yeah, they're helping us with a ton of different things. And we're really excited to have them on board and really be the reason that we're hosting these games and provide insight into those. And you were telling us before we started accommodation in that two week period, good luck. Yeah, it's it's tight. Medicine hat is is we're a smaller community. There's a lot of people coming from all over town and so a lot of family and friends that are staying within the community, we have started to see some family and friends booking accommodations in Brooks or Taber, Elkwater, which is really cool too. So we're kind of saying it's not just a Medicine Hat event. This is really a southern Alberta event that we're we're trying to really embody and pass on to our other communities. Is there billeting involved? There's not no. I mean, I think there's some people that are staying in Airbnbs and things like that, but we haven't been advertising that or anything like that. Okay. Billeting. billeting is old school, Brian. Well, a long time ago, I look at the color of. My hair to. Know if people are are up to billeting anymore, so. But I remember doing that as a young kid. We used to get billeted it when we went to tournaments. So but it's gone by the wayside a little bit. I don't know, to do that anymore. I don't know if you've ever been to Kamloops, but they have a sign up there. It says that the tournament capital of Canada, I think we can maybe do better. That'd be great. Yeah. Our that's not Alberta Game Society is a great organization that is constantly working with other organizations like tourism and the Hotel Association and the Medicine Hat Sport and Event Council to to figure out what we can host. And so, yeah, this will be the first, multi-sport games that we've held since, since before Covid. It's the first kind of like I think, national event, the same thing. So this is a big deal. And I hope really that it ignites our community to start hosting again and find kind of that regular cycle of of being able to host events. So I would love to be the host something City and Medicine Hat, that'd be great. Yeah. Once again, the website, if people want more information or to volunteer. Yes. Sponsor! It's just, SoC Medhat 2026. dot CA Kara Brake, Brian Varga from the Special Olympics, Canada Summer games, Medicine Hat 2026. Thank you for the visit. Thank you so much. Thank you. Guys.