Special Olympics Peterborough is dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals in Peterborough with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport.

The Special Olympics motto is, “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave at the attempt.” This is an organization that is very active in ensuring that every opportunity is given to these exceptional athletes.

I’ve said a number of times that everything you need to learn to survive socially in life can be learned through team sport. Sometimes you score; sometimes you’re scored on. Sometimes you compete with your friends; sometimes you compete against your friends. But most of the time, you’re on the bench and your job is to cheer on and lift up your teammates. The camaraderie that you gain from working together to achieve something will help you succeed in so many other aspects of life.

With the upcoming Provincial Spring Games in Waterloo, Peterborough will be sending a basketball team, 10 swimmers and two athletes for tenpin bowling.

Find out how you can help by going to: peterborough.specialolympicsontario.ca.

In the final seconds, Speaker, I have to give a big shout-out to the Peterborough Wolves Special Olympics floor hockey team. They were the defending champions in floor hockey nationally, and this year when they went to Calgary, they came home with the silver medal. Congratulations to the entire team. We’re very proud of you.