Special Olympics bocce qualifier in Hat

By JAMES TUBB on August 19, 2022.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

Medicine Hat Lawn Bowling club is hosting some of the provinces top bocce talent this weekend.

The Special Olympics is holding their bocce world qualifier for Alberta at the Medicine Hat Lawn Bowling Club on Saturday.

MedHat lawn bowling club secretary/treasurer Curt Moll said they are excited and honoured to host the event and show off their facilities.

“We’re thrilled about it, just to have such a high profile event at our club,” Moll said. “We’re just really excited and our members are excited about it. The fact that they can use that space for bocce is great. People will hopefully come into the space and see what a beautiful facility we have and want to give it a try.”

Local bocce coach Jaelynn Funk said she is beyond excited for the Special Olympics to hold an event like this in Medicine Hat.

“I’m really excited to be able to connect with other Special Olympics teams, because we haven’t been able to do this for over two years with COVID,” Funk said. “It’s great to be able to connect with teams, not only across Alberta, but we’re also having a team come from the Yukon. So I’m really looking forward for all of us to be able to get together again.

In total, there will be 40 athletes competing for a spot on Team Alberta for the 2023 Special Olympics World Games hosted in Germany. Funk said half of the participants this weekend are from the Hat, something she is proud of.

“It’s super exciting for them to be able to compete, we have amazing athletes here in Medicine Hat,” Funk said. “Bocce ball started (here) in 2015 and we started off with a little bit of a smaller group. So to see that in 2022, we’ve grown by so much and we’ve not only grown team wise but we’ve grown in our ability to compete. So it’s super exciting that all our athletes feel like they’re excited, and they’re ready to compete and I’m excited for them to just show off their stuff and shine.”

She said people are welcome to come and watch on Saturday and cheer on the bocce ball talent. Funk also said they are still looking for volunteers for Saturday and anyone interested can email her at Jaelynn135@gmail.com.

Funk said Special Olympics is also always looking for volunteers and people to go out and learn and to just take part in what they do.

“If people are ever interested in getting involved in the community, becoming being part of Special Olympics will bring such joy,” Funk said. “Special Olympics is always looking for people to volunteer. If you’re more than willing, if you want to get more involved in the community, it’s a great way to start.”

The bocce ball action gets underway tonight with some pre competition rounds starting at 6:30 p.m. before the main event on Saturday that gets started at 10 a.m. and will finish up around 2 p.m.

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