Prince George Special Olympian Barbie Conway getting ready to strike

Barbie Conway has been a Special Olympics athlete since 1989, when her mom Barb got her involved with cross-country skiing.

Nearly 36 years later she’s still competing, having made the switch to 10-pin bowling for the BC Summer Games happening this week in her Prince George hometown.

But this time is different for the 59-year-old Barbie.

“This is the first year without my mom,” she said.

Barb Conway, her teacher, her mentor, her ski coach and her biggest booster, died on Jan. 5 at age 86. Barbie was her only child and the light of her life.

“We feel her loss greatly,” said Tracy Cole, Barbie’s Zone 8 (Cariboo-North East) bowling team coach. “Barb was a great advocate for Special Olympics who served on the executive at one time and she knew everybody in town so she could round up volunteers, no problem.”

Barbie and her mom were big-time hockey fans and Barbie got to ride in the team bus of her favourite hockey team, the Prince George Cougars, Wednesday morning during the Law Enforcement Torch Parade from downtown to the CN Centre parking lot.

Barbie was one of the guest speakers for got behind the mic at the lunchtime barbecue to greet the entire Cariboo-North East zone team after they helped carry the flame while being escorted by members of the Prince George RCMP.  For Barbie, it was her 10 torch relay.

“I look forward to them every year, the torch run helps to raise money for Special Olympics athletes, to help us train and attend events,” said the 59-year-old Barbie.  “We enjoy being together with police officers — it is a good way to see the neighbourhoods around where the torch runs happen and a good way to get some exercise.”

Speaking to a crowd is no problem. Barbie got over that natural fear years ago.

“I’ve done it before,” she said. “Another thing Special Olympics does is they have courses that we can go to, like public speaking and bully awareness.”

Barbie likes the attention the torch parade brings to Special Olympics in the communities they visit and it’s even better when the torch is carried through the streets of her hometown.

“One of my favourite memories is when it was really hot one year and a community member turned on their sprinkler for us to run through,” said Barbie. “She had to warn us the water would be hot at first because it was hot out. That was a lot of fun.”

That really hot year was 2001, when Prince George last hosted the BC Special Olympics Summer Games.

“It’s really neat to host this," said Barbie. "We won’t have to travel for the first time in ages."

On Friday, less than after the athletes make their grand entrance into CN Centre for Thursday’s opening ceremony (7:30 p.m., CN Centre), Barbie will be putting on her bowling shoes at the 10-pin lanes at Strike Zone, vying for a medal to try to qualify for the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games next year in Medicine Hat.

She’s on a team with Timothy Jolicoeur, Cindy Komoski and Linda Renner. Renner is the team’s ace, having won three medals (two gold, one silver) at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi.

Medals will be awarded for four-member teams, two-member teams and singles.

“I got into bowling because we don’t have ski coaches,” said Barbie.

“There’s a lot of athletes that do it, so I’m with my friends, and I have a friend coming from Kelowna, and he does 10-pin, too. I met him skiing and I haven’t seen him for three years now.”

Michael Harris, 47, knows his way around bowling alleys as a veteran of several 5-pin Special Olympics tournaments. He made the switch to 10-pin a few years ago and now bowls with a 200 average.

“Bowling is really fun, with lots of people cheering for me,” said Harris, who walked with the torch. “You meet new people. Lots of people are coming from Vancouver, Kamloops, Yukon, Kelowna and Quesnel.”

Barbie and Michael have competed in Special Olympics golf and swimming, and Michael also likes floor hockey.

Bowling games will be played in two shifts each day - 9 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. - with the medal ceremonies at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Barbie’s friend, Prince George Special Olympian Danny Lafreniere, has gained a reputation on the golf course as a long-ball hitter and he’s looking forward to playing two rounds against his provincial peers this week at Aspen Grove Golf Course.

Lafreniere. 42, hit a hole-in-one last year at the Prince George Special Olympics tournament at Prince George Golf and Curling Club – the second of his career – and he’s hoping to see similar one-shot magic wear off on his clubs when he gets swinging in the tournament on Friday.

He once smacked a drive that went an estimated 400 yards, a shot that went so far it bounced off the road that separates Pine Valley Golf Club from the Prince George club.

“He got a hole in one last year and the year before,” said Deb Lafreniere, Danny mom. “It was pretty cool.

“This year we just want the gold. Most of the medal winners get to go (to Medicine Hat) but there might also be a fourth. He’s always been a good golfer – everything he does he’s good at.”

Deb will be there to see Danny tee off, but spectators won’t be allowed to follow the golfers along the course.

Danny also excels in cross-country skiing.

“I’ve watched him compete in cross-country skiing and he works so hard,” said Deb. “There was one race he just about had the gold and he stops; he was waiting for his girlfriend Kim and she came up prancing behind him and goes ‘Ha-ha’ and passes him. It just about killed me to watch that one, it was funny.

“He just loves being around these guys, that’s the main important thing.”

The tournament starts Friday at 9 a.m. at Aspen Grove. Saturday’s final round tees off at 9:30 a.m., with medals to be presented at 3 p.m. at the course.