Second annual Motionball Caledon event raises over $15,000

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Caledon residents enjoyed a day full of sports and fun while supporting Special Olympics last weekend.

On September 16, the second annual Motionball Caledon event was held at Edelweiss Park in Bolton.

Motionball, a national non-profit, raises money for Special Olympics across Canada with social and sporting events. A local volunteer team puts together the Motionball Caledon event.

In 2023, over $15,000 was raised by those in attendance at Motionball Caledon. There were over 20 Special Olympics athletes participating across the different teams in the event. 

Caledon resident Lucrezia Chiappetta, co-chair of ecoCaledon, became involved with Motionball Caledon this year and said the event started with a celebration of the Special Olympics athletes.

Mayor Annette Groves, Regional Councillors Mario Russo and Christina Early, and councillors Tony Rosa and Cosimo Napoli were all in attendance. 

Groves spoke to the crowd about the importance of Special Olympics and shared words of encouragement for the Special Olympics athletes to kick off the day. 

Three sports were played in the morning, followed by a lunch break, then three more were played in the afternoon.

Sports included soccer, football, cornhole and bocce.

“It was so nice to see how well the teams got along and how encouraging they were to their Special Olympics athletes,” said Chiappetta. “You could see it on their faces, how much fun everyone was having.”

There was also a station at the event where participants could learn about the #NoGoodWay campaign, which aims to end the use of the R-word in Canada. 

Chiappetta said organizers hope to keep growing Motionball Caledon and that many people have already committed to coming back for the 2024 edition of the event.

“Many people that I encouraged to register… to talk to them after and hear how grateful they were to be able to participate and how much fun they had, it was really heartwarming for me,” said Chiappetta.