As one of the athlete ambassadors for the Special Olympics BC Summer Games that will be held in Prince George from July 10 to 12, Adam Spokes takes his job seriously.
Always ready with his heartwarming grin, Spokes talked about how participating in the Special Olympics year round program for athletes with intellectual disabilities in Prince George impacts his life and the lives of fellow athletes during the 100-days-out countdown to the games celebration that took place on Tuesday, April 1 at the Kin Centre atrium.
Spokes, who has been an athlete for 12 years, spoke about how the games give him a reason to get out into the world.
“I’ve competed in provincials and nationals in a variety of sports, and I am proud of what I’ve accomplished — not only for our province and city, but definitely for our country,” Spokes said. “Special Olympics athletes, despite a lot of things, are serious about our sports. We’re serious about being athletes, we’re serious about showing up, and we’re serious about doing the hard work. The 2025 Special Olympics BC Summer Games gives us a chance to showcase that.”
Spokes said the majority of the Special Olympics summer sports are mostly geared to the individual, like 10-pin bowling, bocce, swimming, golf, powerlifting, rhythmic gymnastics and track and field.
But there’s one team sport, basketball, that Spokes said he was willing to try for the first time.
“To tell the truth, I’ve always wanted to try a team sport,” Spokes said. “It’s a lot harder to do a team sport here in Prince George because we don’t have a lot of people willing to join a team. A lot of athletes prefer the single sports like swimming, powerlifting and track and field. So it’s a lot harder to get 10 or 12 people who specifically pick this sport.”
Spokes went to the provincial championships to compete in five-pin bowling during the BC Winter Games in 2023 and powerlifting in 2024, he cited as examples of what he has done in the recent past.
“In basketball I am usually on defence,” Spokes said. “I mostly handle keeping the ball away from the net and handling rebounds and getting the ball up the court – but mostly I make a good wall. Other athletes waste a lot of energy trying to run around me!”
Spokes said practice has been once a week and believes it will probably amp up closer to the games.
Spokes said to prepare for the games he continues to participate in the Special Olympics programs offered in Prince George.
“Luckily enough I am a glutton for punishment and I do nine different sports, on top of basketball, so I will be doing track and field, soccer, more powerlifting, and then of course, in my spare time I will be doing other things as well. I love walking up University Hill.”
Here’s a list of the Prince George athletes competing during the BC Summer Games:
- 10-Pin Bowling: Carol West, Linda Renner, Emilie Snyders, Debbie Bileck, Cindy Komoski, Michael Harris, Greg Cole, Greg Eveneshen, KC Westerman, Sean Demers, Timothy Jolicoeur
- Track and field: Randella Willier, Marinka VanHage, Tyler LeFebvre, Spencer Rourke
- Aquatics: Dallas Poole, Brooklyn Sherba, Carla Caputo, David Dunn
- Bocce: Ruth Caldwell, Tara Chiasson, Issac Goudal, Adrian Rosen
- Golf: Rita Cavenaile, Josh Pudney, Daniel Lafreniere
- Powerlifting: Diana Bramble, Sam Russell, Leif Skuggedal
- Rhthymic gymnastics: Darcie Muzychka, Michaela Samsonoff, Angela Hills
- Basketball: Chase Caron, Josh Mehrassa, Matteus Cordeiro, Audrey Nelson, Tegan Raines, Adam Spokes
The Special Olympics BC Summer Games organizing committee is gearing up for the event and is looking for 1,000 volunteers to help make this a memorable event for the more than 1,100 athletes who will be in Prince George from July 10 to 12.
For more information and to register as a volunteer visit www.specialolympics.ca/british-columbia/2025-sobc-summer-games.
