On Saturday, the Airdrie Special Olympics held a swimming competition that saw a total of ten different teams at Genesis Place.

It was an action-packed day as teams as far as the North West Territories and Saskatchewan came to participate in the single-day Special Olympics swimming event.

All the teams that participated in the event included:

  • Airdrie
  • Brooks
  • Grand Praire
  • Swift Current (Saskatchewan)
  • Olds
  • Calgary Dolphins
  • Sally's Swim Club (Calgary)
  • Red Deer
  • Lethbridge
  • A team from Northwest Territories

Tammy Hnatiuk, Head Coach of Airdrie's swimming athletes was excited to finally see the athletes participate in their first swimming event since COVID.

"I'm just happy to see everybody getting a chance to come out and participate. We have at least four new athletes who've never raced before. It's fun for them to get that exposure."

Rylee Young, an athlete participating in the competition was excited to get back in action.

"It feels nice, we haven't done it for a while." 

Young who also competes in golf, mentioned she practiced two nights a week for this competition.

SwimmingLeft, Airdrie Swimmer Ryelee Young. Right, Tammy Hnatiuk.

When asked if she would recommend Special Olympic sports to other Airdrie athletes that might not be already participating, she hopes they would at least give it a try.

"Maybe you try it for one year and then maybe you don't like it, you try different a different sport."

AirdirePhoto of the Airdrie Special Olympics team, coaches and athletes.

Airdrie athletes shined bright as every single athlete, including the four new athletes, did something special, explained Hnatiuk.

"Out of our 17 athletes, every single one of them had at least one personal best."

With the swimming and winter season coming to an end, Airdrie's athletes will look to take on some different sports like bocce, softball and golf.

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