Beyond the Finish Line: Inside Ontario Special Olympics with Constable John Burke of the Waterloo Regional Police

Did you know bowling is an Olympic sport?

In this exciting episode, Constable John Burke joins us to share inspiring stories from the Special Olympics, giving us a peek into a world where determination and joy shine through. As we gear up for the Ontario Special Olympic Spring Games, we talk with Constable Burke about the incredible journey these athletes undertake, the different sports included in the Special Olympics, and the Waterloo Regional Police's involvement in this fantastic cause.

Special Olympics Spring Games
Hosted in Waterloo region
May 23-26, 2024

We also ask about what it's like to be a police officer. Constable Burke takes us behind the scenes of what it takes to become a police officer, discussing the rigorous journey of joining law enforcement and the critical role officers play in the community.

Get ready for an engaging conversation that highlights the inclusivity and joy that the Special Olympics bring to athletes, their families, and the community.

Resources
Special Olympics Website
Waterloo Regional Police Services
Waterloo Region Record Special Olympics Feature

Thanks for tuning in to Curious Conversations! We hope you enjoyed listening as much as we enjoyed creating it for you. Don't forget to stay connected with us on our website and Instagram for more exciting content. Also, make sure to hit that follow/subscribe button and leave us a rating to help us grow and reach more people like you.

Transcript

John : 0:00

Some of the athletes. They have the ability to compete just like anybody that doesn't have an intellectual disability. Their level of competition, their dedication to their sport, what it means to them, is something to really embrace and I think everybody can learn from people that really have a drive to succeed, and no matter what they're trying to, no matter what is against them, but also how much community support there is behind Special Olympians.

Xavier: 0:33

Hi, welcome to Curious Conversations, a podcast for kids, by kids. I'm one of your hosts, xavier.

Emma: 0:41

And I'm your other host, emma, and we're so excited to bring you another season of interesting discussions with people from all walks of life, to learn about their passions and what inspires them.

Xavier: 0:50

We are still as curious as ever and we hope you will join us on our journey.

Emma: 0:55

On today's episode we welcome Constable John Burke of the Waterloo Regional Police Services and the manager of the Ontario Special Olympic Spring Games, which starts next week in the Waterloo Region. Constable Burke tells us everything about the Games, the athletes, the events, where to watch and the impact it has on the community.

Speaker 4: 1:14

So welcome, john. It's very nice to meet you.

John : 1:17

Thank you.

Speaker 4: 1:19

And thank you so much for being on the podcast.

John : 1:22

No problem, of course.

Emma: 1:24

So recently we discovered the Waterloo Region was hosting the Ontario Special Olympic Games and we were curious about the games and what it means to be a Special Olympian. So can you start by telling us a little bit about the Special Olympics?

John : 1:39

Yeah, so the Special Olympics they start off as local games. So people with intellectual disabilities can start by competing locally, you know, within their communities, and whether that's individual sport or team sports. And then once they, you know, they're recognized by their coaches, their community and the organization where they live, they can apply to compete in the provincial games. And so what the provincial games are is that they run every four years. There's three different seasons, so there's the winter, spring and summer games, and then those become qualifiers for the national special olympics and then, uh, which is also a qualifier for the international special olympics so for the qualifying, like um, like in the summer olympics and the winter olympics, you have to qualify.

Speaker 4: 2:40

Like you said, you have to go through a lot of different stages, uh like how you actually qualify for the international games.

John : 2:49

The athletes that are competing in the provincial games coming in May here in Waterloo Region. They'll get a chance to compete nationally, which will happen next year, which will happen next year, and then, once if they qualify nationally, then they'll get a chance to compete internationally. So, depending on what the sport is. So for the spring games we have five different events and, like I said, some of them are individuals, some of them are sport or sorry teams, and it just depends on the peers that they're competing against. Because the difference between Special Olympics and the mainstream Olympics is that the competitions are based on athletes being able to compete with other athletes that are at their ability level. So it gives everybody more of an even playing field. It gives everybody the opportunity to qualify for the international games.

Speaker 4: 3:52

If I win first in like the games right now, would I have the highest chance of going on the international games.

John : 3:59

That's right, exactly yeah.

Emma: 4:01

So what actually? How do you become and what makes a special olympian?

John : 4:06

yeah, so special olympians are, like I was saying, somebody with an intellectual disability and somebody that's interested in sports and competition. You know, one example might be say, if, uh, a resident of waterloo region in cambridge was part of the Kitchener Waterloo Special Olympics organization, which exists, and maybe they're competing in basketball on a team or individually in powerlifting, as an example, they would do their local competitions, go to weekend competitions, tournaments, what, what have you in years leading up to the provincial games, and then, depending on how those events work out and how they place in those events, would give them an opportunity to qualify to go to the provincial games which which are happening here by coincidence, right? So, um, really, for anybody that's local, it's it's really good for them because they don't have to travel far and uh, everything kind of it's. It's it helps them out because everything's being supported for them in this area. Other than that, there's a website, wwwprovincialgamescom, where you can register as an athlete or as a coach, and that's pretty much it.

John : 5:25

Is there an age requirement? Yeah, so you can be. Um, the other thing about this is that in the special olympics, there are athletes that are under 18 years old and then there's athletes that are adults, uh, so over 18. So there's some uh, I don't know what the minimum would be, but, um, I believe it's somewhere around 15 to 16 years old, so swimming would be an example of that. Some of the best swimmers are in their teenage years and they're competing in these games alongside people that are 18 to 25 years old.

Emma: 6:02

How did the Waterloo Police get involved in the special olympics and how did you specifically get involved?

John : 6:09

yeah, so the waterloo regional police were set to host the games the provincial games back in 2020. They were cancelled due to covid, and so law enforcement have been a strong advocate and a partner in special o since, I believe, the early 90s. So that means North America wide. So whatever city or region that the provincial games or in the United States, if the regionals or state games are happening and the nationals, internationals, law enforcement's always been a supporter and really just helped host everything and get everything together. So it was our turn to host and help out with this Games back in 2020. We continued on in 2024, and that's how it got started.

Emma: 6:59

And how did you specifically get involved?

John : 7:02

Here at the Waterloo Regional Police police service, every time that there's a job available or a new position available as long as you're qualified uh, you know, through education, training or availability, you can apply for it. There was a posting for the games manager for the special olympics. I initially didn't apply because I was posted to another area that I was involved in, and so I was called or I was assigned by someone from the chief's office to step in. So I gladly accepted the offer and it's been a learning curve the whole time, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be involved.

Speaker 4: 7:45

So you named some of the sports the whole time. But I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be involved. So you named some of the sports.

John : 7:51

What are all the events that are in the Special Olympics? Yeah, so it's the spring games for our region coming up in May. So the five events are basketball, swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, 10-pin bowling and powerlifting. So swimming is happening two places. It's going to happen at Wilfrid Laurier University, but it's also going to happen at the Wilmot Recreation Centre, which is in between New Hamburg and Baden. Basketball is going to happen at Wilfrid Laurier University Gym as well as St David Catholic Secondary High School in Waterloo, and so Rhythmic Gymnastics is happening at St Benedict Catholic Secondary High School in Cambridge. Powerlifting is happening at Resurrection Catholic Secondary School in Waterloo. And the last event was the 10-pin bowling which is happening at AMF Lanes at Frederick Street. Bowling in Kitchener.

Emma: 8:49

Is anyone like can you just go up and watch? Like, say, you attended one of the schools that is hosting, would you be able to just go and watch?

John : 8:57

Yep, anybody can go and watch anytime they like. There's more than enough room and interest for people to go. If you wanted to come out and watch one of the events or any of the events um.

Emma: 9:08

What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in organizing events or fundraisers for the special Olympics?

John : 9:16

since all everything is happening at community or public places. So the universities own and run by the province, the Catholic secondary schools are owned and run by the region, and then the rec center in Walmont's owned by the township. Out there it's really booking the times that are not going to impact other community events. So some of those places rely on revenue coming in. So it means other people from the community are going to rent it out and pay money so that they can stay open. But then also the schools the Catholic schools and the university have students and faculty that use the space all the time.

John : 9:57

So really it was lining up all of the scheduled events, all of the games, and getting a permit for everything to make it all line up. And then the second thing is bringing in people to help run it. So we're looking at, between the coaches and athletes, over a thousand people there, and then the family and spectators, another thousand or plus at least. So you know, bringing in organizing all the volunteers, all the people that are going to run the events, people that are going to run the events, people that are going to coordinate transportation and parking and all that kind of stuff. So it's just a lot of moving parts and then getting people to be on board, because a lot of the time they have to use their own time, away from their family and their job. So finding time on their own that they're not getting paid for to help out is another challenge, right.

Speaker 4: 10:49

Could you share any heartwarming or impactful experiences you've had while working with the Special Olympic athletes?

John : 10:57

Yeah, absolutely so. The athletes, really. When you look at the whole benefit of Special Olympics and what the athletes get out of it, as well as their family, is that it's an inclusivity thing where they may not be able to compete in events where able-bodied people can, or people without disabilities or people without disabilities, and so a lot of times that leaves them isolated or basically living a lifestyle where they don't get to participate in a lot of things that they enjoy. And so when you get to see the athletes happy and being involved and having a purpose of what they want and what they've been looking forward to, it's really like the purest form of joy where there's nothing else, there's no other reason for anybody to be there except to support the athletes in wanting to be there. So it's being a part of fundraising basketball teams, basketball games and competitions, basketball games and competitions Um, I got to go and um be part of and watch some uh special athletes compete at um, a local high school for for some events, and see all the teachers that get involved and all the other students uh without disability to get involved and support it.

John : 12:20

So it's just a really big community event, uh, to see everybody come together.

Emma: 12:25

Well, how do you see the special Olympics benefiting the community around it?

John : 12:30

So it's going to bring a lot of community awareness to the special um, special Olympic athletes, where they're all just the people in the community are going to um, where people in the community are going to be made aware of how competitive and how good this is for people with disabilities intellectual disabilities. But it also brings the ability for different members of the community from different parts of the community to be able to work together for a competition for this big organization where we can put our differences aside, put our different basically our jobs and everything else aside and work together for a common goal. But the long-term is that we get to play a part in giving our athletes an ability to compete nationally and internationally and bring awareness to other athletes that are coming up, that may be younger, to want to continue to participate.

Emma: 13:32

For the rest of the, you know, for as long as we can keep it going what's one thing you would tell people that you don't think they'd necessarily know or guess about the Special Olympics.

John : 13:47

That some of the athletes. They have the ability to compete just like anybody that doesn't have an intellectual disability. Their level of competition, their dedication to their sport and what it means to them is something to really embrace and I think everybody can learn from people that really have a drive to succeed and no matter what they're trying to, no matter what is against them, but also how much community support there is behind Special Olympians. For that reason it brings in. Brings in good mental health, brings in good physical health and community awareness for everybody to work together so do you have a favorite um sport in the in the special olympics?

John : 14:35

I do like basketball and power lifting. I haven't seen rhythmic gymnastics in play yet in uh, you know, in real life. So it's um, I'm interested to see what that looks like, but I'd say right now the most I've seen is basketball and uh, and that's definitely a favorite for mine how do you choose the sports that this special like athletes compete in?

Emma: 15:00

is it interest? Or are they pre-chosen because they just seem more unique and I haven't like, for example, bowling. I don't think it's in the olympics, right right.

John : 15:10

It comes back to what people with the intellectual disabilities um can compete in and what's available to them in their, in their local community, right? So a lot of how this got started was that back in the 60s, 1960s, is that a doctor realized that people with intellectual disabilities didn't have the same opportunities as other people to become physically active and have the same opportunity to engage with, you know, their peers or people from school or anything like that, based on their disability, right, and so maybe it was just okay, there's a bowling alley, we have the time available, let's get everybody together and bowl, and then that became a staple in the Special Olympics, which has continued on. Basketball is another one. You know, it's relatively easy to book a facility, it's a popular sport, it's a team sport and it's fairly inexpensive to play. So all these things, just getting people together to work on it, and then it grows from there. Swimming is another one. Swimming is a great, great sport for your endurance and cardio and everything else, and it's another community sport.

Emma: 16:30

It all sounds like lots of fun.

Speaker 4: 16:33

But can we ask you a little bit more about, like, your job of being a police officer? Sure, so how do you become a police?

John : 16:43

officer. Yeah, so there's a process. Right now the way it works is that you have to first have your high school, your grade 12 equivalency or grade 12. You have to have four years of post-secondary education, which means college and university. Then you are eligible to receive your Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police certificate, which is basically a certificate showing that you have all of the required education and you can pass some basic testing. And then you fill out an application online with the Waterloo Regional Police Service or whatever police service you want to apply to, and then, if you get through that, you get to do two interviews. So one's a 90 minute interview for a local focus, basically just on basic policing stuff. The second is a essential competencies interview, if you get past the first one, which is about a three-hour interview. If you get past that, then you get to do an in-person physical fitness run just to see if you can have the basic physical fitness capabilities. If you get through that, you get to do a psychological test, which I think is another three hours plus interview, just to make sure that you can withstand the kind of demands that are put on you as a police officer the things you may have to see or deal with. If you get through that, then you go on to a background investigation so they usually have a retired police officer who will do a full investigation on everything to do with your life. So everybody you know, everywhere you've worked, everywhere you've lived, they'll talk to everybody that's in your life. Make sure that everything you put on your application is true and make sure that you're the right candidate for working as a police officer. It's pretty important when you're trusted with a lot of things that people come to you for help with, to make sure that you're not going to be someone that you know maybe doesn't have the best interest in mind.

John : 18:53

Once you get through that, they may offer you a job and that job comes with a condition that you have to pass a medical exam.

John : 19:00

So you have to be able to pass your eyesight, your hearing and make sure that you're good physical health. Otherwise like no sicknesses or anything like that. And then you do four weeks of pre-Ontario Police College training here at the police service. So that's just learning some of the basic laws, some physical stuff, training and use of force things and so on. Then you go to the Ontario Police College in Elmer, which is outside of London, ontario, for 12 weeks or three months. You have a number of exams to pass there physical, practical exams, written exams and then you come back for another four weeks of post-Ontario Police College training here at the police service and then you're with your coach officer for 60 12-hour shifts and if you get through all of that, you get to be on probation for 14 months to make sure you can do the job on your own as a police constable, wearing uniform, driving a police car, taking calls for service. And then you've got the job, then you're a police officer.

Speaker 4: 20:01

Wow, so how much would you think? In total, how many hours or days would that be?

John : 20:08

Yeah, you're looking at altogether probably better part of a year from start to finish. Say, if you were to apply today and everything went really smoothly, where you got everything through, you may be in a police car with your coach towards the end of your training this time next year.

Emma: 20:29

Wow.

Speaker 4: 20:30

That's crazy.

Emma: 20:32

Why did you want to become a police officer?

John : 20:36

So I have a. I have a strong passion for really standing up for people that can't stand up for themselves, or helping people that need help in the community. I'm a strong believer that people deserve to be able to live their life freely and safely, and you, as example, should be able to walk down the street to school or to your friend's house and do whatever you want without having to worry about somebody you know bothering you or hurting you or anything like that, and so I signed up to protect people and to help people out. You know it's also. It's fun, I enjoy myself, it's exciting at times, and that's why I signed up.

Speaker 4: 21:18

So when you become a police officer and after you finish all of that stuff, do you pick where you want to go?

John : 21:24

No. So I applied to the Waterloo Regional Police Service so I knew I was going to work somewhere in Waterloo Region. So we have three what we call urban divisions here. When you come out and you're assigned to one of the three so it'd be North Division, which is Waterloo, central Division, which is Kitchener, and South Division, which is Cambridge you get placed in one of those places. You don't get to pick, really. Maybe now they might ask you where you want to work, but it's based on needs for people, right. It's based on needs for for people, right. So if cambridge or south division needs three new officers because a couple people have retired or moved on, then that's where they'll put you. Once you're past your you know, basically four or five years on the job as a patrol officer into what we call a first class constable, you can start applying for job openings. That would maybe be like a detective or something like that.

Emma: 22:24

So as I'm going to school, we've gone to the village in Cambridge. Do you know? Kind of like the background behind that.

John : 22:31

Yeah, so the safety village was started, like many other police services have them, and what it is is to bring kids in to show some of the importance of safety, but also build a relationship with the police. So I think it's important to realize that police are here to help people and us, um, and that kids of all people should be able to come to us if they need help and realize we're people too, we're fathers, we're mothers, we're, you know, uncles and aunts and stuff like that, right? So just the just building that relationship and giving something fun, because, let's be honest, it's not pretty, it's not very fun for a kid to come and sit in a classroom somewhere, but if they have something to do, you know, like going in little stores or anything like that, it's adds a little bit more to the experience, right?

Speaker 4: 23:25

It was. It was really fun at the village.

John : 23:28

Good.

Speaker 4: 23:29

So, before we go, can you let our listeners know where the special Olympics are and where we can get more information about them?

John : 23:39

Sure, so the special Olympics are happening throughout Waterloo region. Like I said, they happen in Wal-Mart Township, waterloo, kitchener and Cambridge. So everything's posted online. If anybody wants to visit wwwprovincialgamescom, everything's there. Um for the locations, information about volunteering, information about you know.

Emma: 24:03

Draft an athlete program which gives people the opportunity to donate or fundraise, uh, for the special olympics so thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us about the special olympics, and we're so happy to have you on the show and we learned so much today. So thank you so much.

John : 24:22

You're very welcome. Thank you for having me.

Emma: 24:25

Thank you for listening and I know all the shows. You probably listened to say this, but if you enjoyed this episode, please follow and rate the podcast.

Xavier: 24:33

Also, we would love to connect with you and hear your thoughts about our episodes. You can find us on Instagram or visit our website. The links are in the show notes. Thanks for tuning in. Bye.