Special Olympics Skating

Announcing - The Special Olympics Regional Competition will being held in Brampton, Ontario at Cassie Campbell Arena on Saturday, November 30, 2013. This is a qualifying competition and the beginning of the 4 year competitive cycle.

Congratulations to the Hamilton Special Olympics Skating Club Athletes

Following is a link to an excerpt from Hansard (Official Report of Debates in the Ontario Legislative Assembly) for March 5, 2013 when Monique Taylor, MPP (Hamilton Mountain), rose in the legislature to speak about the Hamilton Special Olympics Skating Club and the success of their athletes at the World Winter Games. We'd like to recognize athletes, Sara McKelvie, David Robertson, Tim Goodacre and Jessica Young who embarked on the trip of a lifetime to compete at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea with their dedicated coaches, Michelle Petullio, Kathy Sitak, Jenna Smith and Amanda Marazia.

• Excerpt from Hansard [1p, PDF]
• To see it in the original document you can find it on page 366
• Also, announcement from Arcelor Mittal Dofasco - Dofasco Skating Club Takes Gold, Silver, Bronze at World Games! [1p, PDF]

Special Olympics Categories Offered at the Following WO Competitions in 2012-2013

• Skate Canada - Western Ontario Special Olympic Regional & Invitational Competition, December 1, 2012 at the Galt Arena Gardens in Cambridge.
• John McKay Memorial Invitational, Nov 23-25, 2012 in Tillsonburg
• Charles Dover Memorial Invitational - Jan 11-13, 2013 in Grimsby
• All 3 WO Futures competitions - March 2-3, 2013
• Event announcements & entry form

Reminder Re Mandatory AODA Training

To all Coaches in WO working with Special Olympics athletes, please complete the MANDATORY AODA TRAINING.

• More info from Special Olympics Ontario

Team Ontario - Special Olympics Canada Winter Games

Special Olympics Ontario is pleased to announce the list of athletes and coaches named to Team Ontario for the 2012 National Winter Games. The Games were held in St. Albert, Alberta from February 28 - March 3, 2012.

Team Ontario is comprised of 195 athletes, 58 coaches and 14 mission staff from all across the province. Athletes qualified for the Team Ontario squad at the Provincial Winter Games held in Thunder Bay earlier this year.

The National Winter Games are also a qualifying event for the 2013 World Winter Games to be held in South Korea. Congratulations to the athletes and coaches of the Team Ontario training squad.

Congratulations to Western Ontario Section’s Team Ontario skaters for the 2012 National Winter Games.

• David Robertson
• Nicole Vespa
• Tim Goodacre
• Sara McKelvie
• Jessica Young
• Kaitlyn Sullivan

Special Olympics Canada (SOC) Figure Skating Rules of Competition

These are available on the WO Technical page (as of Sept. 2009). Also refer to 2 memos from SOO posted there as well. These rules are in effect for this year's Regional Competitions.

Introductory Event

This event is for beginner skaters in the Special Olympics program. It will consist of the element portion only. (This event is only at the regional/invitational level.)

• Event criteria

Special Olympics Programs in WO

The following Skating Clubs offer programs for Special Olympics athletes, as per information received submitted from our clubs through the WO Skating Programs Survey. (as of December 2012)

"Skate Canada is committed to providing special needs athletes with program and competitive opportunities. Liaising regularly with Special Olympics Canada as well as other sport organizations for athletes with a disability, Skate Canada provides updates and support to member clubs regarding strategies on how to integrate Special Olympians and other special needs skaters into regular club programming."

Come Be Part of Something Special

Special Olympics Ontario is a non-profit organization that provides sport training and competition for individuals with an intellectual disability. Figure skating coaches who are interested in working with these figure skating athletes, contact Jeannie Skeggs, Area Coordinator, Special Olympics Ontario at (905) 304-5705 or e-mail Region1and2@osoinc.com

For information contact Special Olympics Ontario, 18 Wynford Dr., Suite 300, Toronto, ON M3C 3S2, toll free: 1-888-333-5515.

• Special Olympics Ontario - Figure Skating - resource for coaches and all involved

Special Olympics Figure Skating Competitions in WO Section

Official Special Olympics Canada (SOC) Sports Rules shall govern all SOC Figure Skating competitions. As a national sports program, SOC has created these rules based upon the International Skating Union (ISU) and the Skate Canada rules for figure skating. ISU or Skate Canada rules shall be employed except when they are in conflict with official SOC Sports Rules. In such cases, official SOC Figure Skating Rules shall apply.

Special Needs - Categories Offered

• Singles - there are 6 levels of Freeskate categories, Level 1 - Level 6
• Pairs - there are 3 levels of Pair categories, Level 1 - Level 3
• Dance - there are 4 levels of Dance categories, Level 1 - Level 4
• The rotation of dances is determined and implemented by Special Olympics International.
• Please review the rules as issued by Canadian Special Olympics.