Special Olympics Alberta is dedicated to enriching the lives of
individuals with an intellectual disability through sport.

IMPACT

Special Olympics Alberta uses sport to reveal the full potential of individuals with intellectual disabilities. The transformation and empowerment of our athletes is a catalyst for social change making healthier, stronger, and more inclusive schools. cultures, and communities.

128

More athletes reached on a community level in 2019

159

More coaches signed up to teach athletes the fundamentals of sport

305

More student athletes participated in Unified Sports through our partnership with Alberta Schools’ Athletics Association (ASAA)

137

New volunteers registered to support Special Olympics athletes
$ 400000
Money LETR raised through 29 events for
athletes across the province
$ 240000
Money raised by motionball in Alberta

1042

More people we told our story to through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

33,102

People visited our website for news, stories, sports, and events (13,320 more than 2018)

64k

Interactions on our posts, 51k more than in 2018

Financials

Total Revenues

 Amount ($)Percentage
National Sponsors 296,27917%
General Donations 247,91114%
Government Funding  
a) Government of Canada 253,02015%
b) Government of Alberta 178,77910%
Law Enforcement Torch Run 124,7527%
Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission 289,95217%
Foundations 300,82118%
Other Revenue 26,2702%
Total 1,717,784 

Total Expenses

 Amount ($)Percentage
Sport Program and Events 210,97812%
Unified Sport Programs 65,8274%
Provincial Games 286,86716%
Team Alberta 150,4989%
Affiliate Services 515,06229%
Communications 106,3936%
Fund Development 221,05313%
Law Enforcement Torch Run 99,8146%
Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission 82,1585%
Administration 9,3841%
Total 1,748,034 

ATHLETES

From the age of two athletes can participate in Special Olympics Alberta programs. Active Start and FUNdamentals is offered to Young Athletes and focuses on physical literacy and basic motor skills development. Athletes in Alberta can compete in 18 summer and winter sports, learn and grow in their sport, and advance to competitions at the local, regional, provincial, national, and international level.

3000
Athletes
700
Alberta high school students #PlayUnified
6000
Athlete Participation in Sports/Programs

COACHES

Coaches are the catalysts for athlete development. They provide athletes with the tools to learn their sport, the motivation to help them train, the inspiration to help them succeed, and the resources to be all they can be. Our coaches are inspirational, inclusive, role models who are building a bright future for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

90
New coaches trained
600
Coaches 

“I continue to be involved because I find Special Olympics extremely inspiring and incredibly rewarding. It is a supportive organization that welcomes everyone and fosters a sense of family, belonging, and respect. I admire that it build confidence and self-esteem in our athletes and is
– Marie Powell

VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers drive the Special Olympics movement. They organize events, support fundraising efforts, provide sessions for athletes, and advocate for inclusion, among the hundreds of invaluable things they do to better the lives of SOA athletes.

We want to recognize milestones for our incredible volunteers

300
Volunteers
100
New volunteers
900
Volunteers and coaches

COMMUNITIES

Athletes from 140 communities across Alberta participate in 26 affiliate or community programs. Our community now includes 58 schools who Play Unified across the province.

Community Spotlight: Medicine Hat

Medicine Hat is a community that is always thriving. Their numbers are up again increasing their athlete total by an impressive 50%! They have recruited and developed a new Affiliate Management Committee that is thriving. They are always committed to fundraising whether it is a local event or a national campaigns and are willing to try new events. This year they implemented their Young Athletes program through an innovative partnership with a local Disability Sport Group and they now already have the largest in the province.

58

Unified high schools in Alberta

MOTIONBALL

motionball swept the province this year as the University of Calgary, Alberta, and Lethbridge each hosted a Marathon of Sport. Nearly 200 people came together to raise $14,465 in the three events in support of the Special Olympics movement.

“motionball is truly such a fantastic program because so many university students have the passion and the drive to create change, but don’t know where to start. This event really lets us connect students to the Special Olympics movement and lets them see firsthand why it’s so important.” – Emma Wolowski, Event Director

$ 246000
Money raised at Marathon of Sport Calgary
$ 76000
Money raised at Marathon of Sport Edmonton

HEALTHY ATHLETES

Health Athletes is a global program designed to educate athletes on healthy lifestyle choices. Our first community-based Healthy Athletes screening took place in Calgary, as Dr. Carly McMorris and Stephanie Howe hosted FUNfitness and Strong Minds sessions to over 70 athletes. It marks the start of an effort in the province to make Healthy Athletes and reach more communities.

GAMES

From February 8 to 10, we were inspired by over 700 athletes that came together from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and N.W.T. to compete in 7 winter sports at the incredibly successful 2019 Special Olympics Alberta Winter Games in Calgary. Together we celebrated strength, sport, and spirit and a Special Olympics Commemorative Cauldron will stand outside of the Winsport Centre in honour of the impact these Games had on the Special Olympics community.

11 athletes, 2 coaches, 3 LETR officers, and 1 mission staff represented Alberta as members of Team Canada at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi from March 14-21. Alberta athletes earned a total of 27 medals (18 gold, 7 silver, and 2 bronze) in 10-pin bowling, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, and swimming.

Law Enforcement Torch Run

The Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR) is the largest public awareness and grassroots fundraising organization for Special Olympics globally.

Cops, Pops & Pizza is an annual LETR event where law enforcement officers partner with Boston Pizza to serve patrons with money raised going to support local Special Olympics programs.

Lacombe has embraced Cops, Pops & Pizza and for Jeff Hewitt, having the community involved is the reason why it is the hallmark event in the province.

“The Lacombe community is extremely generous and supportive and the event is always a success. When I approached Boston Pizza this year about the event they were looking for additional ways to give back. They are hoping to make coupons which they would sell ahead of the event.” 
– Jeff Hewitt 

PARTNERS

On behalf of over 3,300 athletes with intellectual disabilities who participate in Special Olympics programs throughout the province, we would like to thanks our incredible partners for strengthening the movement.

National Partners

Provincial Games Sponsors

Provincial Partners

Athlete, volunteer, or coach photos can be used wherever applicable More photos can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/specialoalberta/albums

© Copyright 2023 Special Olympics Alberta