Special Olympics Ontario First Ever Virtual School Championships Kickoff

The Kingston Police and Special Olympics Ontario have put together an opportunity for student-athletes, ages 13-21 to stay active, stay connected and virtually compete. Today kicks off the first ever, Special Olympics Ontario 2020 Virtual School Championships. This virtual event is a safe way for Special Olympics student-athletes and unified partners to keep the spirit of Special Olympics alive by competing safely from their homes.

How it will work:

By visiting the School Championships website.

Athletes are able to choose their challenge. There are challenges in each of the five (5) School Championships sports (athletics, basketball, bocce, floor hockey and soccer).

Athletes then can train for the challenge; submit their best score for the challenges by June 12.

From June 16-18, Special Olympics Ontario will be hosting virtual online celebrations to acknowledge the athletes participation, and provide them opportunity to connect virtually with other fellow athletes.

In March, the decision was reached to cancel Special Olympics Ontario 2020, School Championships due to the public health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Games were scheduled to occur June 2-4 in Kingston.

School Championships Games Manager and Kingston Police Staff Sergeant Jody Armstrong noted, “We were looking forward to hosting the athletes, coaches, and their families. However, since it still is not safe to do so, we are proud to be able to give everyone an opportunity to compete, connect and celebrate the end of the school year.”

The virtual competition will bring excitement to student-athletes who would have had the opportunity to compete in Kingston but also to those student-athletes that had a dream to attend.

The Kingston Police and Special Olympics Ontario are working on details to host the championships in Kingston one day. Although no time frame is yet available, talks continue to be underway with venues and accommodation partners to explore concepts of the Games in the future.

The Special Olympics Ontario 2020 Virtual School Championships are open to student-athletes ages 13-21 in Canada. We encourage supporters to visit schoolchamps.ca for more information and following along on social media for updates on timing of Opening Ceremony and celebrations.

Any enquiries can be directed to Staff Sergeant Armstrong at jarmstrong@kingstonpolice.ca.