Greg Cole provided the spark and lit the flame in front of 2,500 witnesses Thursday night at CN Centre to launch the Special Olympics BC Summer Games into reality.
The 32-year-old Prince George Special Olympics 10-pin bowler teamed up with RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Cooper to carry the torch into the arena and together they fired up the cauldron that will remain lit until the Summer Games closing ceremony on Sunday.
The gas was turned on and the flame roared to life as Cole showed his excitement to a turning to the crowd with arms raised in triumph. He was selected out of a group of 900 athletes from all over the province who came to Prince George to compete in 10 sports over the next two days.
“We talked about what an honour it is to be selected to do this super-important job and I think he was a little apprehensive until (Wednesday) when we had the torch run, and oh my gosh, that just lit a fire in him,” said Tracy Cole, Greg’s mom and bowling coach. “He’s really excited about it.
“I’m not going to lie, when it was announced I was sad, and happy,” she said. “Sad because his dad’s not here, but super-happy for him. It’s been a really positive experience.”
Greg’s father, Tracy’s husband Lorence, died on Jan. 20 at age 62 after a sudden illness diagnosed the week before Christmas.
Greg and Lorence were avid fishermen and they were extremely close.
“When my husband got sick, Greg still wanted to go to Special OIympics and we wanted to support him in that, so he never missed a 10-pin practice, because that was important to him and it was important to my husband” said Tracy.
The athletes, decked out in colourful T-shirts to represent the eight regions of the Summer Games, were met with handshakes and high-fives by Premier David Eby, whose six-foot-seven height made him tower over the line of athletes waiting to greet him.
They represent 46 BC communities and range in age from 13 to 73. The host Cariboo-North East (Region 8) has 40 athletes, 30 of whom are from Prince George.
Among individual sports, swimming has the largest contingent with 154 athletes, followed by track and field (124), 10-pin bowling (88), rhythmic gymnastics (51), golf (44), powerlifting (28) and softball skills (nine). There are 23 bocce teams, 11 soccer teams and eight basketball and softball teams.
For the next two days, Greg will be on home turf at Strike Zone Bowling on Westwood Drive, sending pins flying with his teammates Carol West, Greg Eveneshen and Michael Harris as they compete for qualifying spots in next year’s Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat.
Bowling is Greg’s favourite activity but certainly not his only sport. It started when he was 12 when he got involved with swimming and it wasn’t long before he wanted to try virtually all of the Special Olympics sports offered in Prince Goerge.
Greg also does curling, powerlifting, club fit, golf, soccer and cross-country skiing, and at one time he had nine sports on the go, also involved in floor hockey and basketball.
His 10-pin average is 122.
“I’ve been busy (practising), I’m happy with my game,” said Greg. “I got lots of spares and two doubles (consecutive strikes) the other day. I like being on the team and my mom’s the coach.
“It makes me happy to have the Summer Games here.
He loves target sports, curling, bowling, but doesn’t play bocce, one of the other sports this year in the Summer Games. Tracy would like at least one day off from all his activities, and says she’ll be there for him if he decides to take on another, but that’s unlikely.
“I don’t have time,” Greg said.
Greg works at 7-Eleven near the PG Airport, stocking shelves and keeping the coffee bar clean, and he’s quite independent when he’s participating in his sports.
“When he’s at Special Olympics he doesn’t need any extra support, he knows his routine and he does what he needs to do,” said Tracy. “He doesn’t live independently, he lives with me, but he has a job.”
Greg has many friends in Special Olympics. Because he takes part in so many sports he’s gotten to know dozens of athletes and coaches, including his other bowling coaches, Wyatt and Connor.
“It is their social circle,” said Tracy. “We have really seen an increase in Greg’s confidence, his ability to adapt to different environments. He just has a really solid core group of friends in Special Olympics. Once they leave school there’s less opportunity for them and by having them in Special Olympics it really fulfills their life.
“As a parent you want them to grow up and lead a healthy lifestyle and have a good circle of friends and have confidence in themselves. Special Olympics offered all of those things to Greg.”
Greg has two younger sisters and one of them, Jillian, is volunteering this week for the Summer Games in the kitchen at the College of New Caledonia. She took two weeks off her job in Grande Prairie to come and watch Greg bowl. His sister Erin lives in Kelowna, and she saw his swim races at a meet there in March.
His mom, sister, cousins, aunts and uncles made it a family affair, watching Greg make his grand entrance into the arena carrying the torch. They all wore black-and-white bead bracelets that spelled out Greg and Lorence’s names.
Once the cauldron was lit, it was up to Canadian Tire store owner and local philanthropist Selen Alpay to declare the Summer Games officially open.
After that, Greg got into the spirit and rhythm of the Khast’an Drummers and showed his dance moves, grooving to the drum beat for a one of their songs before the athletes left the arena to try get a good night’s sleep before the Games begin.
