The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics was scheduled to take place at 17 schools in Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury on June 7.
South Simcoe Police officers, including Chief Andrew Fletcher, greeted students at each school, accompanied by Special Olympians — athletes with intellectual or developmental disabilities, or cognitive challenges.
But there was one part of the agenda that had to be dropped.
The plan was originally to hold a torch run from Chris Hadfield Public School to neighbouring St. Angela Merici Catholic School, along West Park Avenue. That plan had to be put on hold due to a police investigation.
As officers were executing a warrant in the nearby Rutherford Road area, a suspect bolted and ran from police, leading to an extensive manhunt and a “hold and secure” order at the schools.
With students locked in their classrooms, Fletcher and his runners simply took the torch run indoors, running through the hallways of Chris Hadfield and St. Angela Merici, as the students clapped.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Special Olympics, launched in Chicago in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
The ground-breaking event marked a transformation in the approach to disabilities, based on research by Dr. Frank Hayden at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Hayden was able to show that participation in sports could build skills and fitness for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Just one year after the first Special Olympics, Canada held its own National Special Olympics competition in Toronto.
Since then, the movement has grown. Special Olympics is now in 170 countries, with almost 3.7 million athletes participating worldwide.
Police agencies and law enforcement officers have partnered with Special Olympics for more than 30 years.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics is a key public awareness tool and fundraiser, launched in the U.S. in 1981.
With the support of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the torch run was brought to Canada in 1987. Officers carry the “flame of hope,” encouraging the Special Olympians to be brave and communities to be inclusive.
