On your mark, get set, go!

Kayla Reykdal, a Portager whose son Caleb was born in 2014 with Down syndrome, is talking about her family's experience with Special Olympics.

Reykdal credits her sister, Deanna Talbot, for piquing her and her husbands interest in the program as a potential outlet for their son.

Talbot was coaching with the Special Olympics Portage adult Stampeders program and invited Reykdal to attend an event in Winnipeg.

"We just went and watched as parents of a new child with Down syndrome, and it was really neat to see. I can remember that we sat there and watched the athletes compete, and they were grinding and battling. The winning team celebrated, and the losing team was upset. Right then, we realized that Special Olympics was everything that every other person had been a part of in sports. It just may be a little bit different."

After their experience with the event in Manitoba's Capital, Reykdal and her family went to the World Special Olympics in California in 2015 and cheered on Team Canada.

 

Caleb at Special Olympics

"it made us, in the early years of Caleb's life, realize that Special Olympics was going to be very important to us."

In 2019, Reykdal says her sister (Talbot) started a Special Olympics program in Portage for kids three to seven years old.

"They always had the Special Olympics for older adults, but they started, what they call, the Special Olympics Colts out of Portage. This program had quite a few young volunteers come out and give up their time to work with these athletes. They did little games throughout the gym, whether it was working on skills like jumping, running or throwing, it was just getting them to have fun with sports. There's no competition at this age in Special Olympics for these kids, but it was just getting them into a program where they're accepted."

Reykdal touches on the importance of special Olympics for these athletes.

"These programs are so nice for the athletes because sometimes when they go, in school gym classes, they might not be able to keep up to their peers. But when they come to Special Olympics, they're all at different levels, and they're all accepted. I think one of the neatest parts is just seeing how happy they are there together as athletes. There's a lot of inclusion in Special Olympics. I think another big part for us parents is that we all get to be there together, watching our kids go at their own pace and develop at their own speed."

Reykdal concludes that if you're a parent on the fence about registering your child in Special Olympics, reach out to anyone who has ever been involved in the program, as they will probably have nothing but positive things to say.