Carleton’s Norm Fenn Gym and Fieldhouse were filled with young professional athletes and Special Olympics athletes who were participating in the motionball Marathon of Sport, raising money for the Special Olympics on Oct. 4.
Motionball Marathon of Sport is a Canada-wide organization that has a huge network of volunteers across the country. It puts on 18 events in 11 cities that range from galas, to Marathon of Sports, to golf tournaments.
The athletes united in the name of sports and sportsmanship at the sixth annual Marathon of Sport, where 10 teams circulated between field hockey, basketball, soccer, ultimate Frisbee, and soccer baseball stations over the course of the afternoon. Sieger Roorda, an avid rower and participant from Montreal, said it was all about the Special Olympics athletes on Sunday.
“It’s the totality of it; it’s every event together. It’s the whole day that counts; that’s the most fun part. It doesn’t matter which sport we’re playing, as long as we’re with them, we’re having a good time,” Roorda said.
The competition extended past the playing field, and the teams were responsible for raising $1,000 each through pledges and donations. This year, the athletes met their target and collected a net worth of $10,000.
Two thirds of these funds are being donated to Special Olympics Ontario where the money will be used to support programs for local athletes in the community, according to the national administrative and event coordinator, Julie Lafazanidis.
The other third will be given to Special Olympics Canada Foundation where the money will be used to sustain the financial stability of the Special Olympics movement in Canada, and to fund long term volunteer and athlete involvement.
“They’re all from the Ottawa area,” Lafazanidis said. “They’re all Special Olympics athletes, which is great because the money that is being raised here today is going pretty much right back to these athletes and the programs that they’re playing in.”
The motionball Marathon of Sport in Ottawa was the last of the nationwide sports marathon campaigns of 2015, ending with what Lafazanidis called a great outcome of supporters and athletes in competitive and sportsmanlike fashion.
Next on the agenda for the organization is its second annual Yellowcard Day on Oct. 8, a campaign that aims to stop the use of the R-word (“retard”) in everyday conversation. Motionball is asking people to share the message with #nogoodway on social media on Oct. 8 to support its cause.
“It’s been used in a negative way and it is very hurtful for the Special Olympics athletes that we support,” Lafazanidis said. “We’d love to spread our message that there is no good way to use the R-word.”
