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Keeping in Touch – April 2001 (Skate Canada Magazine)
Over the past few years Skate Canada has made a commitment to encourage the participation of special needs athletes in their programs.Inordertoassistclubs,articles have appeared in Keeping in Touch and a page entitled The Special Needs Page has been developed on www.skate canada.ca. Work is also on-going with the Canadian Special Olympics and several invitational competitions are begining to offer Special Needs categories, along with the mainstream events.

Perhaps though, there can be no better illustration of the involvement of special needs athletes, than in the following story.

Skating Unchallenged
Seven years ago Nancy-Jo Gamache was hired by the Stamford Figure Skating Club because she had done some work with special needs athletes in her former job with the City of Mississauga. She also had taken the 3M NCCP Level 1 Special Olympics module and the club wanted to offer programming for some special needs athletes in the area. What began as a few skaters has grown into a program of 15 in Stamford and another 15 in Merriton. A core group of volunteers assisted getting the program up and running. Seven years later, that same core group is still involved along with several other volunteers, many of whom are high school students. In fact, the program has grown so much that there is a waiting list for volunteers! Some volunteers have skating backgrounds, others just want to assist in whatever way they can and one of them is even married to Nancy-Jo!

“It is a part of skating that my husband and I can share together. He arranges shifts at work so that he can be available to help with the kids.”

Her son also volunteers.

Each skater in the program has their own volunteer assigned to them, and Gamache has seen many special bonds form throughout the years. One story in particular that was reported in The Standard, a St. Catharines – Niagara area newspaper, is especially poignant.

“For nine-year old Justin Kapoor, fun begins the moment he spots his volunteer friend, Darren Horner, a robust 18-year old high school student. Justin has autism and doesn’t talk much but together they’ve developed a special way of connecting. They howl like hound dogs at one another, an endearing routine that propels the normally quiet Justin into bursts of giggles.”

“Last season when Justin began skating, Darren had to hold him up. Now Justin holds Darren’s hand and is even interacting with a few words.”

Gamache has seen other such transformations.

“Eva has been with the program since the beginning. She has no short-term memory at all and so each time she stepped out on the ice it was like it was the first time. It used to take her as much as 15 minutes to get on the ice and she would only take two or three steps, with the aid of two or three volunteers. She is now independent and can skate two laps of the rink.”

Skating Unchallenged is offered in both Stamford and Merriton once per week and skaters and volunteers are registered through the two skating clubs. Some athletes need complete assistance from volunteers, while others need a helping hand. Others move around the ice with the aid of a “pushy”, which was designed by local high school students, who Gamache works with continually to develop new props and tools.

“It is a total community effort.”

Other skaters in the program are learning skills from the Skate Canada CanSkate and Skating Skills programs and others are beginning to enter the Special Olympics events. Still others are looking to compete at Skate Niagara in July, an event that will, for the first time, include events for special needs athletes. The events will be based on the Special Olympic categories.

It is evident when speaking with Gamache that this is her passion. Most of it has to do with the participants in the program.

“The kids want to be there. They are enthusiastic and support each other, which is so refreshing.”

The program also provides an outlet for parents. While their children are bonding with one another and the volunteers on the ice (and, in the case of the Merriton program, their siblings, who join in the once per week session) parents find comfort in a warm room in the arena and in conversation. It is here that they can share stories, ask questions and develop their own network. They face things on a daily basis that other parents can’t understand. Skating Unchallenged provides them with an opportunity to share and grow, just like their children.

Last year the public got a little taste of what Skating Unchallenged is all about, when members of the Stamford program performed in the Stamford Skating Club’s ice show. They performed to Mariah Carey’s “Hero” and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. They will perform again this year.

“None of it would be poosible without the volunteers. They take lunch hours, they change shifts at work and the high school students commit so much. They do everything from assisting the skaters, to setting up, to talking to the parents. Some of them drive a fair distance to do it.”

And Why?

“Because of the kids” Gamache states emphatically. “Anything you do, if you enjoy it, it is that much easier.”