Bellerose Composite students erupted in cheers Monday as a team of Special Olympic torchbearers burst through their front door.
Runners with the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) arrived at Bellerose on Feb. 26 as part of the Final Leg torch run for the 2024 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary.
The 2024 Calgary Games ran from Feb. 27 to March 2 and saw some 4,000 athletes, coaches, and guests take part in eight different sports to win medals and celebrate persons with intellectual disabilities.
LETR is a group of about 100,000 law enforcement officials that raise money for the Special Olympics around the world, said Braylon Hyggen, the group’s past provincial director and a constable with the Lethbridge Police Service. The group’s main event is the Final Leg torch run that leads up to various regional, national, and international Special Olympics events. The 2024 Final Leg run for the Calgary Games started in Lethbridge on Feb. 23 and visited Coaldale, Taber, Medicine Hat, Calgary, Camrose, Banff, Red Deer, Innisfail, and Canmore before arriving in St. Albert on Feb. 26.
Bellerose learned last January that run organizers wanted to bring the torch to its doors to highlight the school’s commitment to Special Olympics and Unified Sports (which brings athletes with and without intellectual disabilities together to play sports and promote social inclusion), said assistant principal Ashley Morgan.
“We’re so excited and so proud to host the torch,” Morgan said, as it reflects how Bellerose students aim to spread inclusivity and ignite the spirit of camaraderie within others.
“It exemplifies the community and culture we worked really hard to uphold and build.”
Hot torch, freezing cold
Led by Calgary Special Olympian David Hall, the torchbearers set off from St. Albert’s Fire Hall No. 3 in -18 C weather and jogged down Giroux Road to an atrium packed with cheering students at Bellerose.
Hyggen told the crowd how his 15 years with the run started at the 2012 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in St. Albert.
“There was a young boy in the stands with Down syndrome who was cheering louder than any other spectator I’d seen,” he said, and cheering for everyone, regardless of where they were from — reflecting the true meaning of sport.
“It pulled at my heartstrings, and I’ve been involved [with the run] ever since.”
Hyggen told the students that they had been the best crowd he had seen so far in this year’s torch run, and praised the school for its commitment to Unified Sports.
Bellerose student Hayden Manderscheid told the crowd how the Special Olympics gave him a chance to see his friends and be part of a team.
“When I started Special Olympics, I felt special, happy, and proud,” said Manderscheid, who will take part in a Special Olympics swim meet in Red Deer this March.
“I have always loved connecting with people, and Special Olympics gives me that opportunity.”
Bellerose student Karissa Smecko said doing track, swimming, soccer, and basketball through Special Olympics helped her keep active and meet new friends. She said it was pretty exciting to get to see and touch the Olympic torch.
The Bellerose students gave the torchbearers a rousing send-off as they trotted out the front door.
The torchbearers arrived at the Nutrien Western Event Centre in Calgary on Feb. 27 to kick off the Games.
Visit calgary2024.specialolympics.ca for details on the Games.
