200 athletes compete in Sask. sports marathon for Special Olympics
Two hundred young Saskatchewan professionals laced up their shoes and competed in a sports marathon under the hot afternoon sun in Saskatoon this weekend in support of the Canadian Special Olympics.
On Saturday the 2016 motionball Marathon of Sport returned to Saskatoon for a full day of sports at Aden Bowman Collegiate.
Motionball is a non-profit organization raising awareness and funds for the Special Olympics Canada Foundation. Twenty teams of 10 participated in seven sports outdoors including soccer, bocce ball, basketball, ultimate Frisbee, floor hockey, bench ball (a variation of dodge ball) and flag football.
Event organizer Keisha Sharp said the marathon is motionball's flagship event. It is in its third year in Saskatoon.
"Essentially teams play sports throughout the day and each team gets a local Special Olympics athlete on their team so it's all about inclusion, we're here to learn," Sharp said.
One of the athletes joining the action was Jillian Kulbida, a track-and-field Olympian turned soccer player. She's been with Special Olympics Canada for nine years. Her latest competition was at the Special Olympics in Vancouver in 2014.
"I'm so grateful to represent Saskatchewan, we had so much fun and met so many people," she said. "Special Olympics has allowed me to make so many friends. I even met my boyfriend Ben at the Special Olympics summer games in Regina five years ago."
Last year the marathon raised $39,000 and this year Sharp said the goal was to hit $41,000. She said 70 per cent of the money raised stays in Saskatchewan to support local programming while the remaining 30 per cent goes to the national organization for Special Olympics across Canada.
