Dallas Soonais, former professional volleyball player for Team Canada and current filmmaker, gives his speech at the Red Deer Special Olympics celebrity breakfast. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

ABOUT 300 ATHLETES SUPPORTED

Special Olympics celebrity breakfast serves up inspiration and support

Jun 18, 2024 | 12:14 PM

About 150 people attended the Red Deer Special Olympics celebrity breakfast at Westerner Park on June 18, making it one of the most successful editions it has hosted since taking a hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year’s celebrity guest was Dallas Soonias, a former professional volleyball player for Team Canada and current filmmaker. Soonias’ roots are Nehiyaw on his father’s side, and Anishinaabe on his mother’s side. He was the first male Indigenous athlete to represent Canada in volleyball and did so for 15 years before returning to school and transitioning into film.

“It’s amazing that you can be on a world stage, millions of people watching, representing your country and you could be a 16-year-old barely starting to dream, and it can be the same feeling. And the reason I’m telling you this is because everybody here who bought a table or is supporting these games, this is what you provide for these athletes,” he said.

Soonias has also done work with Indigenous youth and young athletes in Whitehorse, Yukon through his Volleyball on the Move Clinic.

“We know there’s a bunch of crazy athletes out there that could be the next Olympian, so if we can give them the slightest nudge in that direction then it’s worth it for us,” he said.

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A major fundraiser for the organization each year, there were 31 sponsored tables at this year’s celebrity breakfast, including 15 sponsors that have been supporting the event since its first occurrence in 2006.

There was a 50/50 cash donation draw as well, which raised a record $2425. Gordon Scott won the elimination-style heads/tails draw for half the cash, and pledged to donate his $1212 winnings back to the organization.

Donations to the Special Olympics support costs for athlete equipment, uniforms, training facilities, transportation, and social events. Athletes do pay a registration fee to participate, however, Jerry Tennant, chairman of the Red Deer Special Olympics said they subsidize costs as much as possible to remain accessible.

“For many of them it’s their whole social life: their friends, their family — we’ve even had marriages end up because of meeting in Special Olympics. It’s a wholistic type of a program where we try to work with them in terms of mental health and social well being and things like this,” he explained.

Speaker Dallas Soonias, Chairman Jerry Tennant, and Mayor Ken Johnston gather with various athletes, coaches, and volunteers from the Red Der Special Olympics. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

Lately, costs for the organization have increased as their number of athletes, and the number of sports athletes compete in, has increased. Last year its membership and its volunteer base increased by about 10 per cent to about 300 athletes and 70 coaches and volunteers.

“We are third highest in province in terms of athletes, in terms of volunteers, and in terms of the number of sports that we offer,” Tennant said.

The Red Deer Special Olympics currently offers support in 14 sports: nine in the spring/summer season, and five in the fall/winter season. Most recently they added outdoor pickleball to their repertoire, but Tennant would like to add more winter sport options in the future.

While the Paralympics offer those with physical disabilities the opportunity to compete on the world stage, the Special Olympics serves and supports citizens with intellectual disabilities. Red Deer officially became an affiliate of the national organization in 1980.

”We are available to support any individual with an intellectual disability that wants to get involved, that may or may not have the resources,” Tennant said. “If you have an intellectual disability or know of someone that has, this is a great opportunity for them to meet friends, get involved in sports, get involved in a healthier lifestyle, and we’re there to help them.”

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