William Ypma, left, and Jamie Van Parys are set to compete in the Special Olympics nationals taking place in Medicine Hat, AB next week. Ypma will be playing golf while Van Parys will participate in bocce. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)
Two athletes from Tillsonburg have been working hard to prepare for the upcoming Special Olympics Nationals.
The event is scheduled for August 9 to 16 in Medicine Hat, AB, where William Ypma will compete in level 5 golf and Jamie Van Parys will take part in bocce.
Van Parys earned his spot at nationals by winning a silver medal at last summer’s provincials held in Brantford. This marks his fourth year playing.
“I’m really excited,” he shared as he gets ready for this experience. He also mentioned that he’s looking forward to visiting Alberta.
“I’ve never gone anywhere like that before,” he added.
Van Parys practices two to three times a week with his coach based in Brantford, emphasizing the importance of focus during training.
“You have to be able to judge your weights, if there’s bumps in the grass or other issues,” he explained.
An interesting change for Van Parys and many competitors is that this year’s event will take place indoors on artificial turf. It’s the first time nationals have been held inside. While this surface removes some outdoor irregularities, it does come with a different speed. Van Parys has practiced indoors to prepare for it.
Ypma also qualified through last year’s provincials after over ten years of golfing experience. He participated in the nationals back in 2018 for bocce and finished fifth in his category. In golf, there are no handicaps; instead, players are divided into divisions.
“It’s more challenging,” he remarked about how golf differs from bocce. p>
Golf competitors will face three full days of play with each day consisting of 18 holes along with half a day dedicated to training. p>< p c l a s s= "_ R U _ A B G C _ W B X T H E E D T R E S N H M G I O I F F N H E T H D N T I M R O V P C A R B D M J I N D R U C W V L L F C A M K L E L L A G X A B P A H U F K A H P U M B C X K S D Y W O K Y O W S V L O R E I X H U C I H W T K B V M F E S M G G J | “I t ’ s f o u r f u l l d a y s , a n d i t ’ s h o t o u t t h e r e , ” s a i d C a r o l y n M u l h o l l a n d , Y p m a ’s c o a c h. “W e ’ r e w a l k i n g i t ; t h e r e ’ s n o c a r t s.” p>
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