Article of the Month

"A Special Event"

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a very special event that happened in my community. This year my town was chosen to host the BC Special Olympics Summer Games. I decided to volunteer after seeing a display at the local mall advertising their need for people to help out at the event. I didn't think a whole lot of it at the time, other than just thinking it was something to keep myself occupied for a couple of days.

Having never really volunteered at anything, and especially not something like this, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was given the job of timekeeper at the swimming events. The thought of standing around at the pool with a stopwatch in my hand for hours on end originally did not thrill me in the least. However, once the day came and I was there doing it, I had the time of my life. The excitement at the pool was almost unbearable, and I found myself getting caught up in it all. The spirits of these athletes was like nothing I had ever seen before. They were there because they loved to swim. Whether they won or lost seemed fairly unimportant to them. The cheers from their friends and families in the stands were enough to put a huge smile on their faces. And even after all the energy they put into swimming their laps, they were still eager to jump in there and do it again.

I have never been so impressed in my life as I was then with all of these wonderful people, both the athletes and their entourages. They had come here from all over the province for this opportunity, and I hope they all left with the feeling of accomplishing something. But I know they all had fun and, as I discovered during those two days, that's all that really matters.