Special Olympic Provincial Summer Games set to begin to N.S.

Over 9,000 athletes, coaches and volunteers will gather in Antigonish for the Nova Scotia Provincial Summer Special Olympics.

Antigonish and St. Francis Xavier University will be hosting the 2025 Special Olympics N.S. Provincial Summer Games from July 24 to 27.

“I think it just makes me feel even more confident because I’m like, okay, I can do that. I can do anything,” said Ashely Thomas, a soccer player out of the Sackville-Bedford region.

Thomas was a member of Team Canada who competed in Germany at the 2023 World Summer Games.

She has been playing soccer with the Special Olympics Nova Scotia (SONS) team since 2012, saying she’s grown both on and off the pitch.

“Well, I’m faster. I’m stronger. I’m more confident and knowing when new people come into the team, it’s just making them feel confident and welcoming.”

This is something her coach, Geoff Tyler, agreed with.

“Because it’s all about teamwork. And that’s not just in sport, that’s in life is that we have to have teamwork,” he told CTV News.

“But seeing that progress from the early stages to now, and I’ve always had ideas of how to teach the game, how I would like to see it played and just to put those skills forward to them and then to see them actually do it and make plays that you’ve taught them it’s a really, really good feeling.”

Tyler joined SONS over 10 years ago because of his son Xavier.

“My wife got him involved with Special Olympics, and so I went along one evening to have a look, and it looked like I was interested,” laughed Tyler.

“So they called me down to join in, and the coaching started from there.”

For both athletes and coaches, SONS is more than just what happens on the field.

“It’s not just about, the sport itself, but the group that you’re with. It’s about how it affects you in everyday life,” explained Tyler. “It gave me a lot of confidence and other things in other aspects of my life. I have better skills to be able to cope with different things and then throw that in with the sport that I love and then teaching that people are willing to learn.”

“Because it’s fun. It’s like another family,” said Thomas.

“You can’t really know unless you’re there. Like when you’re there, it clicks like ‘oh, that’s what Ashley was talking about.’”

In his 10 years, Tyler is impressed by the growth of Special Olympics in the province.

“More and more people are getting more aware of it and when you’re involved, you talk about it, because it’s trying to get people outside of their own bubbles to realize it is a thing,” he said.

“It is there, and it’s fun and it’s a good thing to be involved with. So, you know, we always coach people to be involved in some way, whether it’s volunteering or coaching or just come along to support your region because they’re all proud of playing for their hometown.”

This weekend will see four days of competition in basketball, bocce, golf, swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, track and field, and soccer.

These games serve as qualifiers for the 2026 National Summer Games, which will be held in Medicine Hat, Alta., in August 2026. The weekend will see over 850 athletes, coaches and volunteers.

“You can expect to see lots of really, really happy people,” smiled Tyler.

“They’re all having fun. There’s lots of different sports going on, so whatever your sport is, just go choose that, have a look, see what’s going on, and you’ll just see people having fun, having a good time, and competing and competing strong as well.”

With growing awareness top of mind.

“My group itself is 25 athletes, and it is pretty big. We only really get six weeks off in the year. Other sports don’t do that,” Tyler said of the growth of soccer in the region.

“We’re really lucky that we train most of the year, and plus our region itself is big, like the second biggest region has grown as more and more people become aware of it.”

Of course, the goal is winning, too.

“We’re taking home gold!” shouted Thomas.

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