Friends made through Special Olympics help 13-year-old adjust to High School
“It makes me proud of my family, and I meet new friends!” – 13 year old athlete Brooklynn Belcher, when interviewed alongside her mother Charlett about how being part of Special Olympics together has impacted their lives.
Brooklyn began in Special Olympics Active Start programs— which are geared to kids 2 – 6 but were still growing in their local area - —Charlett got Brooklynn to stay in Special Olympics after signing her up for the local all ages community swim team. Charlett said Brooklynn already knew how to swim, and although she “wasn’t the best”, she still fit in on a team with athletes who were significantly older than her.
Wilhemina—the coach—said all the swimming athletes transition to track and field. I said ‘who are you kidding, [Brooklynn] can’t even walk properly.’ [Wilhemina] said we should just try.'
As they both discovered, the accommodating environment of Special Olympics meant no one was really limited from participating just because they “couldn’t” do something. Even if she was younger and smaller than the rest of her peers, Brooklynn quickly found she had a place on that track team where she could learn how to run at her own pace.
“All the girls were there,” Charlett recalled, “and Brooklynn said ‘I love it here!’”
Going to their first Special Olympics tournament—a track and field meet—it was also Brooklynn and Charlett’s first time seeing a competition with mixed divisioning for athletes of all ability levels.
“Seeing all these athletes doing the 25 metre I thought ‘this is amazing’!” Charlett said. “Some [were] on walkers or crutches. When I saw that I thought ‘there’s no limits for Brooklynn’. She can do all these sports.”
Having already been featured in the Empire Family of Brands’ Special Olympics fundraising campaign, Brooklynn recently got to represent her community on camera again while filming the Joy is Gold commercial. In the ad, Brooklynn was one of a few Special Olympics youths playing the role of Active Start athletes (many of her fellow actors are still enrolled in Active Start as well).
Charlett said her daughter loves spending time helping to mentor younger kids, which Brooklynn has had less opportunities to do after entering her first year in high school. One of her favourite parts of filming the Joy is Gold ad was getting to spend time with the younger kids, especially five-year-old Sadie who Charlett said she helped a lot during the shoot.
Turning 14 later this year, Brooklynn attends St. Michael’s High School in Bolton, Ontario. She is enrolled in an accommodating program for students with disabilities called Raise. Raise integrates Brooklynn into regular high school classes, while also ensuring she has access to one-on-one support. Brooklynn added she studies math and English, although her favourite subject is physical education.
Within Raise are long-standing friends of hers, older students with disabilities that Brooklynn knows from her local Special Olympics community. Charlett said having that social network helps to make the transition to a big school—where Brooklynn is now one of the youngest members—easier. In fact, the hardest part is going through September, when summer Special Olympics programs are over, and there is a month wait until the fall/winter programs start back up.
Once the season ends, Brooklynn will go ‘mummy when is it starting?'
“I’m going to be on JJ’s team!” Brooklynn replied, talking about one of the many friends she made through sports.
“We put the competitive ones together,” Charlett said, with a smile, “so they don’t drive everyone crazy.”