Chase Caron, Prince George Special Olympics ambassador, athlete and artist, has created the medal ribbon design that will be seen at the 2025 BC Summer Games held in Prince George from July 10 to 12.
There will be 1,200 athletes with intellectual disabilities striving to earn a coveted medal in 10 different sporting events including basketball, in which Caron has chosen to participate for this BC Summer Games.
The medal ribbon’s design was unveiled Monday morning in the Civic Centre lobby with Shirley Bond, the Games' director of public relations, introducing Caron.
“Athletes are coming here from all over the province to compete,” Bond said.
“They are athletes, they practise, they train hard and they want to win medals. So we are very proud to say that Chase Caron is competing in her fifth Special Olympics BC Games. She is also one of our athlete ambassadors and in addition to that — not just a talented athlete, she is also a talented artist, an illustrator, a cartoonist and she has agreed to share her skills to design the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games medal ribbon.”
Caron, who has been involved with the Special Olympics program in Prince George for the last 12 years, participating in basketball, track and field, curling, soccer, snowshoeing, and the Club Fit program that is mandatory for competitive athletes, talked about each aspect of the ribbon that has the words "celebration," "pride," "limitless" and "inclusion" on it as well as the phrase "let your brilliance shine."
There is an infinity symbol along with the colours that reflect the province and the Special Olympics logo.
“To design the ribbon for the medals I wanted to choose elements that represent Special Olympics as a whole,” Caron said.
Those elements would showcase core values like inclusion, perseverance and teamwork, she added.
“I also wanted to include the backgrounds of the province as this is an important competition for athletes all across the province,” Caron said. “So I incorporated the colours of the provincial flag as well as the colours of the Special Olympics BC Summer Games logo that includes summery colours like the orange and yellow, which are also meant to represent the Special Olympics flame. I also wanted to incorporate our Pacific Northwest colours like blue for the ocean and the sky.
"I hope the ribbon will make people feel a sense of accomplishment and pride and the award being won and all the trials and tribulations athletes have persevered through both practice and in competition. I hope it shows the skills and abilities of those Special Olympics athletes and I hope it shows pride in your team, pride in your province, pride in your own endurance and pride in yourself and how you developed your own skill sets.
"To me, Special Olympics provides a true experience of sportsmanship and teamwork. It is a place where people with intellectual disabilities can feel a sense of belonging and where we can experience the joy of competition and camaraderie. I thank everyone who is involved in Special Olympics and helps make these inclusive experiences possible.”
For more information about the Special Olympics BC Summer Games in Prince George from July 10 to 12 and to register to volunteer visit www.specialolympics.ca/british-columbia/2025-sobc-summer-games.
