The Olympic torch will be soon be making its way through the streets of St. Albert – the Special Olympics torch, that is.
Special Olympics athletes and law enforcement officers from across Canada will participate in the run that will bring the Flame of Hope through eight northern Alberta towns over two days before arriving in St. Albert the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 28. The opening ceremonies for the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games take place that evening and events run until March 3, mostly in St. Albert.
It isn’t your average torch run that’s bringing the flame to town. Instead of running from town to town, the torch and its carriers will be bused.
“It used to be all about the running, but now it’s more about the awareness,” said Const. Amanda Trenchard, Edmonton police officer and torch run director.
“We’ve changed our focus from doing a mad, crazy run in open fields where nobody sees us to doing ceremonies,” she said.
“In most communities, we’re running only about two kilometres, because that’s the tradition, but we weren’t getting out the message that we wanted to get out, just by running past cows.”
In each location, officers and athletes will run the torch into a presentation at a local school to help students better understand the reason for the Special Olympics and the spirit that drives the games.
Albert Lacombe Elementary School will host the Flame of Hope for St. Albert at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, after Mayor Nolan Crouse accompanies it from city hall to Grandin Park Plaza. The students are being well-prepared to receive their guests.
“It’s a good fit for us because we have the sports academy program, and we also have students with diverse learning needs within our school community. This includes students with intellectual disabilities, which is the population that’s served by Special Olympics,” said Albert Lacombe principal Joan Tod, who is also the education co-ordinator for this year’s Games.
Students across St. Albert have had lessons on Special Olympics, been involved in creating art projects and welcome messages for the venues and athletes, and have had visits from past and current Special Olympics athletes, said Tod.
Albert Lacombe itself had athlete Larry Green, a downhill skier who will compete in this year’s Games, speak to the students about his experiences and goals.
“He attended Albert Lacombe in Grades two and three, and his Grade two and three teacher still works here. So she introduced him to the kids and they cheered him on and gave him some medals to inspire him,” said Tod. “We had a very special moment.”
In the evening, the last leg of the torch relay will have between 100 and 200 law enforcement officers run from the RCMP detachment on Bellerose Drive to the Games’ opening ceremonies at Servus Credit Union Place, where a cauldron will be lit by a member of Team Alberta, to mark the official start to the games.
This moment is the one that Trenchard, the torch run director, is anticipating the most. Her fondest torch run memory to date stems from a 2006 torch-lighting ceremony she attended as a soccer coach, before she became a police officer.
“That was probably my neatest experience: to see it from the other side. There were tears in [the athletes’] eyes and some of them were jumping up and down,” she said.
“I think it’s because of their attachment to law enforcement. They know the officers are there to protect them. There’s just that common bond.”
Admission to the opening ceremonies is free to the public and will begin promptly at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28 at Servus Place.
