Cory Melnychuk has been involved with Quesnel Special Olympics for over three decades and now he's heading for Italy to compete in the Special Olympics World Winter Games. While he's involved in a handful of different sports, he'll be going to Italy for snowshoeing, which he's been doing for over 20 years.
Melnychuk will be the first person from Quesnel to go to the games and he's excited to have been given the opportunity to compete for team Canada.
"I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for somebody from this community," he told The Observer less than a week before leaving. It'll be the farthest Melnychuk has been from Canada and his biggest worry is the jet lag.
He said he participates in Special Olympics for the fun of it and to keep the competitive juices flowing.
"It gives us an opportunity to really try something that we wouldn't have had the courage to do. It's something that allows us to get out of our comfort zone," he said of why Special Olympics is important.
Before leaving for Italy, Melnychuk had a send-off celebration at Riverview Elementary School where people wished him luck in the games. He has competed in Special Olympics games at the national level in Canada, bringing several medals home to Quesnel.
The opening ceremony for the games will be March 8. The games will run from then until March 16.
