From February 26th through March 2nd, Team Newfoundland and Labrador, along with 800 athletes from across Canada, will participate in the 2008 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Quebec City. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Team Newfoundland and Labrador athletes competing in the sports of Cross Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, and Snowshoeing.
To help prepare the provincial team, all members have committed to being part of the Provincial Team Training Program (PTTP). This will be the first time that a Special Olympics Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Winter Team will have the chance to be part of a PTTP. This program allows all of the athletes, coaches, and mission staff to gather for an initial training camp to set team and personal goals as well as do sport training. Throughout the year training will continue in communities throughout the province, and one additional training camp will be held to fine tune for the games.
In 2006 the Provincial Team Training Program (PTTP) was instituted for the first time for a Newfoundland and Labrador Special Olympics Team. Because of the additional training and access to resources that Provincial Team athletes received, they achieved personal bests in 79% of the individual races they competed in at the 2006 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Brandon, Manitoba. Special Olympics athletes deserve the opportunity to achieve and this program is a necessity in helping them reach their potential.
The 2008 edition of this program officially kicked off in July when Team NL members and their coaches traveled to St. John’s to take part in the initial training camp. The weekend was a huge success and gave an opportunity for team building as well as valuable training and goal setting opportunities. Team members have now returned to their home communities where they are training hard and living healthy.
