The Motionball Special Olympics fundraiser has moved to the mountains, adding a winter fundraising event at Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna, B.C., to its roster following the success of its summer event.
The Motionball Marathon of Sport has raised more than $1 million over the past decade, and now Derek Fuhr, Kelowna volunteer event director, has brought the first Motionball Winter Games event to life.
“It’s like our traditional event where we have teams of 10 people and every team is paired up with a Special Olympic athlete and play alongside them and get to know them,” said Fuhr.
The teams compete in everything from sled races and relay races to tube rides during the one-day event.
“This is a smaller variation of what we do at our traditional events — we have six Special Olympic athletes out today and 40 participants and it’s a great time, everyone is having a lot of fun,” said Fuhr.
Special Olympian Chris Harrington competes in Basketball, Golf, Softball and Floor Hockey, and, today, he is happy to be a teammate at the first event of its kind.
“It’s about being all together, whether you have a disability or not, it’s all about inclusion,” said Harrington.
Kassidy Rutledge, who competes in Swimming, Powerlifting and Snow Shoeing, says she had a great day on the slopes.
“It’s a very nice day here and it’s really fun seeing all my friends having a blast and the time of their life,” said Rutledge.
More than $10,000 was raised for the Special Olympics thanks to the event. If you would like to donate to the cause, visit http://www.motionball.com
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