Cory was assigned to the Worksafe BC team this year, whose corporate colours are orange, and Worksafe Sam was there to get the day started.
Then the Special Olympians were introduced:
First some ultimate frisbee:
Then some bocce, and since Cory is a 5-pin bowler, he has some skill in this sport...bocce scores similar to curling...the team with the balls closest to the target - in this case a small yellow ball called a jack - gets the points:
Cory gives it a try:
Cory gives it a try:
with excellent results:
lining up a shot...
then admiring his work...
This shot takes a divot!!
Another try:
And yet another shot...
With great results which earns a high-five from teammate Lisa:
Time now for some lunch with his team:
Then, time for some soccer action:
Onto some beach volleyball:
setting up a serve:
anticipation:
Reach!
an oops...
and the traditional end-of-game handshake:
All in all, this is a day that Cory really enjoys. He likes to participate in just about every event he can and this day gives him some exposure to different sports and the opportunity to make new friends. The non-Special Olympians who participate gain some awareness of the capabilities of these athletes and have the opportunity to financial resources for them too. Cory connected really well with the Worksafe BC team and they've invited him to join them for the Marathon of Sport 2010.
Now, you may have noticed there were no photos of Cory's participation in basketball and badminton. That's because on Saturday at 10am, the remaining supply of tickets for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver went on sale. We had tried to buy tickets earlier through the "lottery" system that was in place for events where demand exceeded supply (which is all the popular events such as hockey, figure-skating, curling, and of course alpine skiing). But we didn't get any tickets then, and we were very disappointed. So this last shot at the remaining tickets would be Cory's last opportunity to be a spectator at the Olympic Games next year.
For those of you that have followed Cory's story, you will know that he met several members of Canada's Men's Alpine Ski Team when they raced in the World Cup at Whistler in February 2008. So we really hoped to be able to watch them in person at the Games. But all we could get was tickets to the Ladies' Super Combined (one downhill run, one slalom run), so we won't get to see the men. But this is a great event for Cory to see as he'll see just how fast the world's best go at top speed in the downhill, plus he'll see just how fast a slalom course can be skied too.
Plus, he has been in touch with Kelly Vanderbeek - she's on the Canadian team - via email, so he does have a connection there. The main thing is that he will be able to attend the Olympic Games, a once-in-a-lifetime experience (though I did attend the Summer Games in Montreal in 1976, so a twice-in-a-lifetime experience for me). And we were lucky to get those tickets, I had been waiting over 90 mins online and was just about to give up to get back to Cory at the Marathon of Sport, when my laptop showed that I was in the ticketing website. A few clicks later - and not a few hits to the wallet! - we had our tickets!
So on Valentine's Day next year, we'll be at Whistler to see the world's best female alpine skiers race down a course that Cory has skied many times - the Dave Murray Downhill. You can count on an update to this blog after that!
But you'll come back and visit us again before then, right?
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