By Adam Beauchemin
Aidan Higo started his senior year at Samuel-Genest high school with an appearance at the OFSAA high school provincial championships and finished it with some unique memories from the Special Olympics Ontario School Championships.
Higo was one of over 1,100 student-athletes from across the province who came together for competitions in athletics, basketball, bocce, floorball and soccer at Carleton University and Gloucester High School in early June.
There were two divisions: traditional (where all competing athletes have intellectual disabilities) and unified (where athletes with and without intellectual disabilities compete on the same team).
“I feel it’s truly important to be able to give a fair opportunity for everybody, no matter what their physical or mental state is,” underlined Higo, who ran for the Laser track relay team.
In the fall, Higo helped Samuel-Genest to a quarter-final appearance at the OFSAA ‘AA’ boys’ volleyball championships.
When the opportunity to be involved in Special Olympics programming presented itself, he was all-in – literally.
Higo collected more than $1,000 in donations to support Special Olympics initiatives and took a polar plunge during a wintertime fundraiser.
“It really only started this year, but I feel like it clicked for me and I felt like I had to do this for the other kids,” signalled Higo, who also plays competitive volleyball for the Ottawa Maverick Stallions high-performance team.
“We have some pretty good athletes, both unified and traditional,” he added. “That’s why it’s so important for them to have these kinds of events where they’re able to have the chance to compete at a high level and compete for a medal.”
For Higo’s Samuel-Genest teammate Stevie Mienanzambi, she got all the medals she could manage, including a gold in their 4×100-metre unified relay.
“It was very good,” Mienanzambi said in French. “I’ve never passed the baton, this is the first time I’ve done it, and I won that too.
“We finished more than a few seconds ahead. That was good. I liked that we were perfect and that we were stronger than yesterday.”
Next door to the track at Gloucester High – where athletes sweltered in the 30°C heat – Higo and Mienanzambi’s Samuel-Genest classmates were in action in a 3v3 unified floorball tournament.
“Today was good, very fun,” indicated Alexy Landruault, who scored both of his team’s goals in a narrow 3-2 bronze medal match defeat to Collingwood’s Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School. “It makes me really happy to be here and to spend time with my friends.”
Landruault’s grandfather Paul Jennings said he enjoyed the day as a spectator, watching his grandson compete from the stands of the arena.
“For me, just to see the kids enjoy themselves and get a chance to compete in something they might not necessarily do everyday is fantastic,” Jennings highlighted.
Jack Ethier, who also competed for Samuel-Genest, nearly tied the bronze medal match up with a slapshot from the point in the final minutes of the game. He echoed Landruault’s sentiments, describing the day as very fun.
Ethier’s family, including his brother Sam, enjoyed watching from the crowd as well.
“He scored a couple goals today which is obviously good news,” grinned Sam Ethier.“Bringing the community together is a big thing, seeing the smiles that get put on people’s faces after playing a big game. It’s definitely a very fun atmosphere and I’m sure everyone is having a blast.”
For Special Olympics Ontario, the School Championships are a celebration of sport, inclusion and community, and having unified divisions has made a big impact, organizers noted.
“Since starting unified sports, our athletes have become known and respected across the school,” Glebe Collegiate Institute educator Angela Nixon said in a Special Olympics Ontario announcement. “They are high-fived in the halls, asked how they are doing, and have made friends beyond the classroom. Unified sports has had an immeasurable impact, and our students lead by example, paving the way for future teammates.”
For Chesel Law and Grady Overwijk from Glebe’s track team, the day was all about fun and positivity.
“The opportunity to compete is such a fun thing, and to do it in an environment like this, which is so positive and so much fun, it’s really just awesome,” said Overwijk. “Couldn’t ask for anything better.”
The Glebe coach described the atmosphere as absolutely electric.
“Having the opportunity to play at a high level has meant everything,” added Overwijk, who’s played basketball her whole life. “Between the relationships that you get to build with other people — like what we’re doing with our teams right now — and just being able to compete and try to win, those two things together, they just build character, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Law, who’s in his first year with the Gryphons as a unified athlete, said it was particularly great to be able to participate in the Special Olympics event so soon after getting involved with the team.
“You get to meet all these new wonderful people and make new connections and just have a good time,” Law explained. “It’s just such a great positive environment.”