Dee Neukomm, one of the founding members of the Prince George Special Olympics organization, has been coaching Special Olympics rhythmic gymnastics athletes for the last 39 years.
This year Special Olympics BC Summer Games will be held in Prince George from July 10 to 12 and see more than 1,100 athletes with intellectual disabilities from BC and Yukon come together to proudly compete in 10 sports and be celebrated for their efforts.
This is the third time the City of Prince George has hosted Provincial Games for Special Olympics BC.
Special Olympics BC offers year-round sports programs for people with intellectual disabilities of all ages and ability levels in 55 communities across the province.
Special Olympics started in Prince George in August 1986.
“I saw the notice in the newspaper that there was going to be a meeting about it and our daughter, Lara, was Down syndrome and she was 13 at the time and was really wanting to participate in sport,” Neukomm recalled.
“But she wasn’t at the level that allowed her to be a part of a lot of different sports. I hadn’t heard of Special Olympics before that so I just went to this meeting and there were four of us moms there and it went from there.”
The other three mothers were Ivy Whitfield, Mabel Cotts and Sheilagh Blacklock.
Lara, Neukomm's daughter, love to swim and that was her main sport while she also participated in rhythmic gymnastics which was started as a Special Olympics sport in February 1989.
“I didn’t have a clue what rhythmic gymnastics was but the local coordinator at the time said it might be a good sport for me to coach so I gave it a try and I loved it but the unfortunate thing was just as we were to start Lara was diagnosed with Leukemia,” Neukomm said.
“That was a huge issue because she ended up in Children’s Hospital in Vancouver so I wasn’t able to be here and one of the moms took over and it was just one group routine with six athletes and when I came back with Lara it was May and she was put on the rhythmic gymnastics team because she couldn’t compete in the swimming because she was going through chemo treatment.”
In 1989 Prince George Special Olympics athletes competed in the BC Summer Games held in Campbell River.
“When we started out in 1986 we only had swimming and track and field,” Neukomm said.
Then five-pin bowling and other sports were added over the years including rhythmic gymnastics.
Neukomm said she remembers there were only four teams competing in Campbell River in 1989 and because the construction site across the street from the gym caught fire they were evacuated after only doing one routine.
“The Prince George team was awarded the gold medal and we moved on to the National Games in Vancouver in 1990,” Neukomm said.
“Lara was able to participate in that and it was a very special event because she got to light the flame for the National Games and I was just so proud to be there as her mom and coach. So that was huge and that year she was also chosen as National Female Athlete of the Year so we got to go to Toronto in December for a lovely gala. Lara had actually qualified for the 1991 World Games, which were held in Minneapolis in July, but Lara passed away in April – she had relapsed and her body just couldn’t take it but she was a fighter.”
Needless to say it was difficult for Neukomm to go back to coaching the rhythmic gymnastics team without her daughter.
“The athletes were very sad because of Lara’s passing but I knew we had to carry on – the athletes had to carry on and I had to carry on, so I just kept going after that,” Neukomm said.
“It’s very special to me to coach these athletes - just to see the advancement, the ability of all the different athletes because they all have a different level of ability, and to be able to work with them – to bring all that out is a wonderful experience.”
When Neukomm made the decision to continue coaching rhythmic gymnastics she took every Special Olympics course and every coaching course that was available to her.
“And I went as high as I could go and by this time we had different apparatus, different routines at different levels and at one time I had 35 athletes so it was a pretty big program,” Neukomm said.
It took a lot of volunteers to manage so many athletes so there were many assistant coaches, she added.
In 1998 Neukomm has named Female Coach of the Year by Special Olympics Canada and Special Olympics BC.
In 2001 Neukomm had 14 athletes that qualified for the Special Olympics BC Games and at that time there were four different levels – 1, 2, 3 and 4. In addition to those categories there is now a wheelchair level, a level where athletes learn routines but they don’t move and another level where there’s a little more movement and it’s a little more difficult and after athletes complete those levels they can then move onto Level 1, Neukomm explained.
Athletes perform on the floor with an apparatus including hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. Athletes must be strong, flexible, agile and coordinated because there’s a lot going on during a routine.
“It is a challenging sport,” Neukomm confirmed.
“First of all there’s all the body skills they have to learn and then all the apparatus skills – there are five different apparatus and then they memorize the routines that are set to music and then during competition they are judged on their own. So they are out on the floor by themselves and it’s not the strongest or fastest – it takes a lot of courage to get out on the floor by yourself in front of anywhere from six to eight judges, when it’s a big competition and I admire all the athletes and it’s such a great experience for them.”
Right now Neukomm has 20 athletes in rhythmic gymnastics and they are always kept on their toes throughout the years.
International rhythmic gymnastics routines change every eight years and have been choreographed by a group of people, including coaches and judges within the Special Olympics International program that is headquartered in the United States and along with the new routines comes another avenue athletes can explore called floor.
“So in 2023 we changed routines and so the athletes have to learn those and to compete they have to learn five routines, four apparatus and one floor, so that’s been a bit of a challenge to add another new element,” Neukomm said.
“But they work at it and we do it. They always work to be the best they can be and that’s all I ask."
Neukomm coaches rhythmic gymnasts who are just learning at the lower levels and Level 1 for an hour on Tuesdays, then on Thursdays it’s Level 2, 3 and 4 athletes for two hours. The athletes have to work through each level before moving on to the next so the majority of the athletes are at Tuesday practices.
Special Olympics programs are seasonal and year round depending on the sport and rhythmic gymnastics ongoing practices take place at AiMHi gym but as the BC Summer Games set for July 10 to 12 approach the City of Prince George offered competitive rhythmic gymnasts the chance to get used to the Civic Centre floor as that’s where they will compete.
There’s nothing more comforting to an excited athlete than competing where you practice.
Having coached rhythmic gymnastics for 39 years there have been some long relationships built, Neukomm noted.
Darcie Muzychka is the rhythmic gymnast who has steadfastly been part of the team the longest.
“I think Darcie was 16 when she started and she’s around 40 now,” Neukomm smiled fondly.
Darcie, Level 4, will be competing at the BC Summer Games along with Angela Hills, Level 3, and Michaela Samsonoff, Level 3, who are coached by Neukomm. BC Summer Games Head Coach Annaliise Wilson and Assistant Coach Megan Klotz from Quesnel and Quesnel athlete Cheyanne Wards, Level 1, will also be representing Region 8 at the Games.
“I have been very fortunate to be able coach at every provincial games since 1989 every four years to 2013 and then I’ve also been very fortunate to have been head coach for athletes going to National Games and that was every four years from 1990 to 2014 and I’ve been lucky to have gone to World Games in 1991, 1995 and 1999 and 2003 and I didn’t have any athletes going in 2007 but I was head coach and that was in Shanghai and then I didn’t apply after that. It was time for the younger coaches to be able to get into coaching at the higher levels. I had some awesome experiences and I was always very proud of the athletes who competed at all levels.”
From Special Olympics BC Summer Games held in Prince George athletes can move on to the National Games held in Medicine Hat, Alberta, next summer.
“And I am hoping to go there as a spectator because I was born there,” Neukomm said.
“And I have some great expectations that my athletes will be there.”
For Neukomm coaching rhythmic gymnastics athletes has been her passion.
“I’ve been doing this since 1989 and I never thought I would still be here 39 years later,” Neukomm said.
“It’s been a very special part of my life.”
For more information about Special Olympics BC Summer Games in Prince George from July 10 to 12 and to volunteer visit https://www.specialolympics.ca/british-columbia/.
