| | This is the April edition of the Community Connect Newsletter that is shared with our whole Special Olympics Ontario community. | | | |
2025 Polar Plunge Recap
As our 2025 Polar Plunge season wraps up, find out how we did at reaching our goal and when we plan to celebrate!
Learn more by scrolling down!
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Major Games Update
We've got exciting Team Ontario and Team Canada updates as we recap the 2025 World Winter Games and prepare for the 2026 National Summer Games!
Learn more by scrolling down!
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Provincial Sport Awards
Nominations for this year's Provincial Sports Awards are now open! If you know of someone who deserves to be recognized, we want to hear about them!
Learn more by scrolling down!
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Athlete of the Month: Jess Horvath
“When I think of Special Olympics, I think of teamwork and having fun with my friends.” Those are the words of Jess Horvath, an athlete from Brantford. Jess first became involved with Special Olympics eight years ago and has...
Click here to read more of Jess' story.
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Community Highlight: An Educated Perspective
This month we’re handing things over to Corina, a teacher from Waterloo Region District School Board, to share her experience with Special Olympics—
For about 10 years, I have had the privilege of volunteering with Special Olympics. This journey has filled my life with pure joy, inspiration, and the spirit of true sportsmanship. I began by...
Click here to read more of Corina's experiences with Unified Champion Schools!
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Over $1,000,000 Raised!
This past weekend we closed out the season to be #FreezinForAReason with a big splash! Thanks to all of your incredible support, we're thrilled to share that we reached and surpassed our ONE MILLION DOLLAR fundraising goal!
Starting April 14th, we'll have Celebration Week to recognize all the incredible groups and individuals involved in making this year's event such a huge success! We'll also be sharing the final fundraising total, so make sure you're following Polar Plunge on Facebook and Instagram.
| | Team Canada - 2025 World Winter Games | |
Last month we had 23 athletes from across the province fly to Turin, Italy to compete in the 2025 World Winter Games. In total, Ontario's Team Canada athletes brought home 14 bronze medals, nine silver, and 14 gold! Congratulations to all of our athletes and thank you for so proudly representing Canada and Ontario on the world stage! | | | | Team Ontario - 2026 National Summer Games | |
Team Ontario will represent Special Olympics Ontario at the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games. The Team Ontario Program is designed to provide athletes, coaches and mission staff with a welcoming team environment built on a foundation of Excellence, Empowerment, Respect, Growth, and Community. It will require dedication to training, healthy living, and accountability to its team members. Through their effort and actions, the Team will be ambassadors for Ontario and a source of pride for grassroots programs and communities. | |
SAVE THE DATE:
Chef Chat - April 16th @ 7pm
Curious about the foundation our Chef de Mission is builiding for 2026? Interested in a leadership or coaching opportunity with Team Ontario? Our Chef de Mission, Duane Carson, is looking forward to talking about his plans for the team and answering questions from volunteers about Team Ontario on April 16th at 7pm.
Details on how to tune in will be shared closer to the date.
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Special Olympics Ontario's Annual Provincial Sport Awards are a chance for communities and clubs to recognize the amazing athletes and volunteers that make our programs as great as they are. If you know someone who deserves to have the spotlight shine on them for what they do, please submit a nomination.
The nomination deadline for all twelve awards is May 31st, 2025. Review the award descriptions below and please note that nominations cannot be submitted by family members.
| | Kin Club of Russell - Catch the Ace | | This Week's Jackpot: $288,000 | | Another month has gone by without anyone catching the elusive Ace of Spades! That means the jackpot continues to grow and each draw brings even greater excitement at the chance of a big win! Every single ticket you purchase on our behalf will directly support thousands of Special Olympics athletes across the province, plus you could take home a major prize! | | |
You MUST select Special Olympics Ontario (listed at #21) as your charity of choice to have your ticket purchase support Special Olympics Ontario!
Review the infographic below for more information and purchase your tickets at kinclubofrussell.ca/catch-the-ace
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APRIL 6TH
Barrie - 5-Pin
APRIL 12TH
Richmond Hill - 10-Pin
APRIL 13TH
Sudbury - Swimming
Kawartha Lakes - 5-Pin
Welland - 5-Pin
Cornwall - 5-Pin
Sarnia - Swimming
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APRIL 26TH
Saugeen Shores - 5-Pin
APRIL 27TH
Stratford - 5-Pin
Guelph - Basketball
Scarborough - Swimming
MAY 3RD
Ottawa - Basketball
Toronto - Soccer/Bocce
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SOC Competition Course
The SOC Competition Course is designed to prepare coaches for local, district, or provincial competition with the primary focus on safety, fun, fitness, fundamentals, and performance as well as basic skills of the sport. This is a required training course for volunteers interested in participating in Provincial or National Games.
SOO will be hosting the following training opportunities as we head into spring. Click a location below to register.
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Special Olympics Ontario has opened our policy review process and welcomes feedback from our community members.
If you would like to make suggestions about existing policies or to make recommendations for a new policy, please visit our Policy page to review the policy in question and then complete the Policy Feedback form found at the bottom of the page.
Special Olympics Ontario is also seeking individuals interested in being part of one of our policy review teams. These teams will do an in-depth review of our existing policies and review the feedback received from our communities and members.
If you are interested in being a part of a review team, please complete this form.
We are anticipating that this process will be completed in the fall of 2025, at which point all policy updates or additions will be circulated to community members for review. We appreciate your support with this fundamental process.
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Please note that Special Olympics Ontario is no longer active on X (formerly known as Twitter). While we considered several factors, in consultation with our Board of Directors, we determined the current state of the platform does not align with our mission of championing inclusion. Our accounts on that platform will no longer feature new posts and are no longer being monitored. We are not restricting individual communities from using the platform if they so choose.
Please continue to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay in touch and keep updated on our programs and events.
| | Share Your Special Olympics Story | | For the chance to have your Special Olympics story featured in a future newsletter, social media post, or campaign, submit your information on our Athlete Profile Form! Fill out your information, tell us your story, and submit a photo of you participating in Special Olympics, or include a headshot. | | |
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