Organizers remain optimistic that athletes will hit the start line for Friday’s outdoor events at the Special Olympics Ontario Winter Games.
The frigid January temperatures have already wreaked havoc with the schedule, forcing the outright cancellation of all alpine events at Mount Baldy scheduled for Friday have been canceled, while long distance cross country ski races at Kamview Nordic Centre were moved to 3 p.m. Friday.
The athletic portion of the Unified Games, being held simultaneously at Fort William Historical Park, has also been cancelled, though all other related activities are still a go.
Schedules are being revamped on an hourly basis, said Matt Cockburn, chairman of Special Olympics Ontario, which could result in the elimination of heats and going directly to medal competition.
“We’ve got some flexibility built into the schedule, so I think we’d end up cutting back some of the preliminary heats. But if the weather picks up we’ve still got time to get it in,” Cockburn said, calling it unprecedented in the quadrennial Winter Games’ history.
Competition rules state that outdoor events may not be staged if temperatures drop below -25 C, with the wind chill.
Environment Canada was reporting temperatures of -28 C on Friday morning, with the wind chill making it feel an Arctic-like -43 C. By noon temperatures had risen slightly, but not nearly enough to start the races.
There is hope, said one organizer.
“I think if the wind dies down a little bit, we might be OK,” said Games chairman J.P. Levesque.
Linda Ashe, vice-president of Special Olympics Ontario, said the organization was aware of the winter temperature pattern in Northwestern Ontario when they awarded the region its first provincial competition.
The average low temperature for Jan. 21 in Thunder Bay is -20 C, but Ashe said there was a limited window of opportunity to put on the Games, which must be held by the first week of February.
“The ability to make this event happen, this was the best time frame for Thunder Bay to host the Games,” Ashe said.
Levesque also said the organizing committee has been meeting regularly and the possibility of cold temperatures did arise.
However, he added, things looked good until the week began. Then the mercury began to plummet.
“Up until a couple of days ago we were kind of high-fiving ourselves thinking it was going to be great,” Levesque said Friday morning at a hastily called, weather-related news conference.
“As far as contingency, you push the times back as far as you can.”
This isn’t the first time weather has interrupted a Special Olympics competition in Canada. Last year in London it was the heat that forced officials to go into a holding pattern at the Summer National Games in London, Ont.
“The difference is we don’t have the daylight that you have in the summertime, so we’re just going to run out of daylight,” Levesque said.
Sunday is not an option, he added.
With Environment Canada forecasting similar temperatures on Saturday, the final day of competition, provincial organizers have also been forced to reconsider qualifications for next year’s National Special Olympic Games in St. Albert, Alta.
Should the snowshoeing, cross country or downhill skiing events not be held due to weather, Ashe said athletes will qualify using divisional qualification times that earned them the trip to Thunder Bay.
“If things go seriously wrong, which we don’t believe they will, the Games committee and Special Olympics will come up with some contingency thoughts to see what else we can do,” Ashe said.
“At the minimum those times will be used.
Cockburn said the weather would not affect future bids, should Thunder Bay decide to put in a bid.
“It’s not just about these Games this weekend. They’re hugely important, but we really want Special Olympics to be a lasting part of this community in Northwestern Ontario. This is a big part of it, but it’s only the first step from our perspective in generating more awareness and more participation in Special Olympics.
That doesn’t mean officials aren’t upset at the turn of events.
“I’m disappointed for the athletes. They trained so hard, they worked so hard and they’re so excited. It would be unfortunate if their particular event was completely cancelled and they didn’t get any of their athletic competitions in,” Levesque said. “We’re hopeful.”
Indoor events are going on as scheduled, he added, with a full house watching figure skating and speed skating competition at the Tournament Centre.
