From July 8–12, the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus will welcome 1,300 athletes with intellectual disabilities for the Special Olympics Canada 2014 Summer Games. UBC is proud to serve as the host venue, offering students, staff and faculty the opportunity to get involved in the Games and the Special Olympics movement.
Story ideas:
Putting the focus on ability
A UBC expert says attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities are improving but underlying discrimination exists. Read more here.
A passport to a green future
UBC aims to make the Special Olympics Canada 2014 Summer Games the greenest sporting event ever, with a little help from the athletes. Read more here.
Play it forward
Students from UBC’s Okanagan campus helped train athletes from Team BC but say the benefits go both ways. Read more here.
UBC’s involvement with the Games:
- 8 of 11 sporting events will be held on UBC’s Vancouver campus
- 350 students, staff and faculty from the UBC community signed up to volunteer for the Games
- More than 100 students were involved in projects related to the Games such as creating maps, reducing waste, sourcing local food, and eliminating the need for bottled water
- Kinesiology students created a new student club called BUILD (Building Understanding of Intellectual Disabilities) to increase the visibility of people with intellectual disabilities
- Medical, nursing and health students held screening events for athletes with intellectual disabilities to help identify health problems such as poor eyesight, hearing, and gum disease.
- UBC varsity athletes volunteered at training camps and formed a team with Special Olympics BC athletes at the annual Storm the Wall student recreation event
- Student residences will be transformed into an Athletes Village to house and feed 1,300 athletes from across Canada as well as coaches and Games officials
- UBC also hosted the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in 1990
- The Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre will host the opening and closing ceremonies and is the first venue in the world to host the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, and a major Special Olympics event
For more information about UBC’s involvement with the Games, visit: http://vancouver2014.ubc.ca/