Last weekend, the St. Albert Special Olympics team packed their bags and headed out to Grande Prairie for the 2025 Special Olympics Alberta Summer Games.
St. Albert's organization, which is composed of approximately 80 volunteers and 240 athletes, provides year-round sports programs to individuals with intellectual disabilities. The program offers nine summer youth and adult programs and 10 winter youth and adult programs. Out of the 240 athletes, 46 qualified to attend the summer games.
St. Albert resident Chelsee Pedwell was in charge of the volunteers for the organization and said everything went smoothly in the lead-up to the games.
“Preparation for the games went well," Pedwell said. "Our athletes worked hard and pushed themselves through consistent practice.”
The games consisted of 10 summer sports: swimming, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, basketball, 10-pin bowling, athletics, soccer, softball, and powerlifting.
One athlete who stood out over the weekend was Brittney Sinclair. The 29-year-old from St. Albert participated in four athletic events, winning a medal in each event: gold in the running long jump, silver in the 200-metre run, and bronze in shot put and the 100-metre run. Sinclair said she was happy with how the weekend went and had a great time at the games.
“The weekend was fun because I could meet new friends, and it was neat to walk with my St. Albert team for the opening ceremonies," she said. "I also enjoyed being on the track and winning some medals.”
Sinclair benefited from the coaching of Sabrina Brady, an Edmonton resident who has volunteered for the past 10 years and was proud of all her athletes after their successful weekend in Grande Prairie.
“I initially got started because I was friends with a coach back then, and they were looking for additional support and someone who knew track and field," Brady said. "I do have a background in competing myself, and you know, after coming out to help them out, I just fell in love with the athletes in the organization.
“I think the biggest thing is just how committed they are to their sport and their performances. They trained in between our practices, and they came out for extra practices. All of that shows their dedication to the sport, and all that effort that they put in this year paid off.”
This was Sinclair’s second time competing in the Special Olympic Summer Games. She competed in 2015, the last time the games were held in Grande Prairie.
Over the course of the year, athletes practise weekly and attend qualifiers the year before provincials. Leading up to the games, extra practices are scheduled to ramp up the athletes' training.
“I can say these are dedicated athletes who put their heart and determination into what they do, and it shows when they get out there to compete," Pedwell said.
Now with the 2025 Alberta Special Olympics Summer Games in the books, Sinclair is looking forward to future competitions and a well-earned rest.
“It’ll be nice to be home with my family and my dogs,” she said.
The weekend was not perfect for the track team, as an injury to one of the athletes took a toll on the team.
“We had an athlete sustain a concussion on Friday night, and being a close-knit team, Brittney and Logan were worried and found that challenging," Brady said. "Just a bit of a tough night before their first competition day, but they rallied around each other. We were very grateful that he was able to attend track the next day."
St. Albert’s Special Olympics program participated in six sports over the weekend: swimming, athletics, bocce, softball, golf, and basketball. St. Albert ended the weekend with a total of 32 medals, including 14 gold, eight silver, and 11 bronze.
