By Yvette Bauer
Published June 5 2018

On Sunday May 13 five Haliburton County Red Wolves Special Olympics athletes Alyssa Whitaker Skylar Pratt Emily Boccitto Carrie Crego and Jason Cochrane left Minden to compete in the Special Olympics National Games in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island.

The Red Wolves Special Olympics five-pin bowling team of Cochrane Boccitto Whitaker Pratt and Crego won silver. Individual medals were won by Whitaker gold; Boccitto silver; Pratt silver and Crego bronze for “pins over average” in their respective divisions.

We were part of team Ontario with other athletes representing other communities from all over the province. We stayed at UPEI (University of Prince Edward Island) for the week. We played against teams from British Columbia Newfoundland Manitoba and Saskatchewan. We joined athletes from across Canada for meals. We also exchanged pins. New friendships were formed as well as meeting old friends and updating the Facebook information to stay in touch. Over the course of seven days we had an opportunity to tour this beautiful province. Red rocks red dirt red sand and a lot of water.

Without the support of the community this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity could not have been possible. I was privileged to accompany our athletes on this adventure on behalf of them and myself a heartfelt thank you.