Cowichan athletes came home from the Special Olympics B.C. Winter Games in Kamloops with medals in the five-pin bowling and floor hockey events.
The Winter Games ran from Feb. 2 to Feb. 4 and featured 500 athletes with intellectual disabilities competing in bowling, skiing, curling, floor hockey, figure skating, snowshoeing, and speed skating.
Bowling was contested at Falcon Lanes and 120 athletes competed.
In the Yellow Division, the Cowichan Valley Strikers won gold, beating next-best team, the Port Alberni Grizzlies, by 452 points.
The Cowichan Valley Strikers, coached by Irene Lintner, included bowlers: Darian Tielemans, David Simms, Allen Hahnet and Maurice Bernier.
In the Blue Division, the Cowichan Valley Knockouts won bronze. The team scored 3,613 to capture their medal.
The Cowichan Valley Knockouts, coached by Jean Scholefield, included bowlers: Alanna Kay, Kandra Riley, Laura Clement, Ian Elliot, and Jenny Scholefield.
“Cowichan Valley is proud of the bowling team,” said coach Scholefield. “They practiced and worked hard to do their best at the winter provincials. So excited they received bronze. Well done Knockouts!”
Katherine Elliot, Knockout team member Ian Elliot’s sister, said both teams had a fantastic time at the event.
“They practiced hard and they did their best and they got the medals,” she said. “Ian was absolutely chest out when he came off that bus,” she said of the squad’s return home. “They were so proud.”
Also competing at the Special Olympics B.C. Winter Games were floor hockey participants Chris Oldnall and Duane Horsman. The duo played for the Victoria Wolfpack, which took bronze in the Blue Division.
“The athletes were well prepared to compete with pride, after all their hard work training in the year-round Special Olympics programs in their hometowns,” said a press release following the events. “They returned home laden with medals, personal bests, and memories and friendships for life. As they say in the Special Olympics Athlete’s Oath, they were truly ‘brave in the attempt’.”