As stated by Special Olympics Canada Summer Games, their existence is all about honouring, respecting, celebrating, and increasing awareness of Special Olympic Athletes’ inclusion and participation in sports, all while creating community collaboration. This strongly aligns with Special Olympics British Columbia’s belief that sports open hearts and minds, as they, too, look to create inclusion and community across British Columbia.
Currently, Special Olympics Team BC 2026 is training hard and working toward competing in this year’s Canada Summer Games, going in with over 244 athletes with developmental and intellectual disabilities, along with 75 volunteer coaches and 22 mission staff. The lives of families and athletes from 42 different communities across British Columbia will be changed this summer, among them, four individuals from the Abbotsford community.
In anticipation for the upcoming games, integrants from the Special Olympics Team BC shared their experience and thoughts going into the event, including the following team members from the Abbotsford community.
Ashley Rosenberger will be competing in Swimming for this event. Her athletic career in Special Olympics began when she was around 12-years-old, and she has competed in National level sports events in Bowling, Curling, and Rhythmic Gymnastics. She previously competed in Rhythmic Gymnastics for the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games and took silver and gold home. Her goals and mindset going into this year’s games are to give it her best, and have fun along the way.
Daniel Boshart is a Track and Field athlete who started participating in Special Olympics in the fall of 2018. He was a part of the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games, participating in 200 Metres with a gold medal, in Long Jump winning silver, and bronze in 400 Metres. He is proud of his progress and improvement over time, and loves competition, stating that he enjoys running really fast. His ambition is to become the fastest 200 Metre runner in Canada and is hoping to achieve that goal in the upcoming summer sports event.
Donna Bilous’ role is Medical Liaison Mission Staff, and she has been involved with Special Olympics for 20 years. One of the things she is most proud about is the impact she has had on lives through Special Olympics and sports in general. The lessons she has learned along the way have helped her not only as a coach, but as a parent too. She loves how exciting the games are and always aims to make sure everyone has the most incredible and energetic experience possible. She is proud of being part of the team that will represent British Columbia, her goal remains to prepare athletes and coaches’ health and raise awareness of the challenges that sports involve.
Paige Norton is a Powerlifting athlete that first got involved with Special Olympics at the age of nine. She also takes part in other sports such as speedskating, athletics, soccer, swimming, basketball, softball, club fit, and golf. She was a part of the 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games and competed in the Powerlifting discipline. The games taking place this summer in Medicine Hat will be her second National summer games event, where she took gold for her corresponding weight division. Her goals going into the summer games are to reunite with old friends and make new ones, and above all, to lift well and do her best.
For any fans looking to support the team, the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games Medicine Hat will be broadcast live by Skycron through TSN, where people can watch the live event online. The Special Olympics Team BC is also accepting donations through their official website to help cover transportation and equipment costs.
