Blair Bastien

Blair Bastien has a position with Basketball”s Team Canada

The Event is Being held in Berlin, Germany, for the first time ever

Article by Sue Dickens/Images submitted

Campbellford – Blair Bastien will be joining thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities competing in the Special Olympics World Games next year.

She has been playing sports for the past decade, everything from basketball, to soccer, track, baseball, floor hockey, ice hockey, Bocce, baseball and snowshoeing.

Next year she will be competing as a member of Canada’s womens’ basketball team at the world’s largest inclusive sports event.

When Bastien received the phone call telling her she would be competing with Team Canada, she said, “I burst out in tears… but in a good way. And I had my mom beside me and she cried too. And I got the biggest hug from my mom.”

The Games take place from June 17 to 25 in Berlin. This will be the first time that Germany has hosted the Games and it will be the first time Bastien has ever travelled to Europe.

She will be leaving for Germany on June 12 and returning June 27.

Blair Bastien

“I’ve been involved in Special Olympics for nearly 10 years and I knew this couple (Corlea & Robert Freeland)…and they were my coaches, and they’re the ones that got me into Special Olympics,” said Bastien, 29.

We asked Bastien about her disability and the challenges she faces on a day-to-day basis.

“I was diagnosed at a young age,” she noted.

For example, “I’m not able to tell time from the regular clock. I can’t count money by myself,” she explained. She lives with her mom, Judy Todd, her sister and brother-in-law who help her when needed.

And then there’s her coaches who are a big part of her life.

We asked Bastien if she will be nervous before the competition.

“I guess the emotions are then when you first hit the court and you see everybody around you. It’s like you see the people in the stands and you’re not sure if they’re going to be cheering for you or cheering in general…so it will be a nerve wracking experience, but I have confidence in myself and my team that even if we don’t win we’ve made it this far. And it’s a challenge but it’s a good well deserved challenge,” she said.

Before concluding the interview Bastien talked about her love of sports.

“I’ve always been interested in sports, even when I was in high school. I never got the chance to really play in high school due to being bullied a lot. I never got the acceptance that I wanted. So when somebody brought up to me about the Special Olympics, I knew nothing about it. I had heard of it, but I never knew anything about it. And so I just tried out,”

This sport has helped her make a lot of friends too, friends across Canada who she keeps in touch with regularly.

The Special Olympic, she said, makes her feel appreciated.

“I feel equal. I don’t feel left out and I don’t feel like I’m being taken advantage of. I feel wanted and appreciated and accepted.”

Bastien plays the position of point guard on the basketball court.

The coaches in her life include Juli Prokopchuk Brattan. Hellaina Rothenburg, Steve Singer (old Kitchener coach ) Tim Vall. (old Kitchener coach ), Patrick Henry. Bill Chapman (Special Olympics Coordinator) and Corlea & Robert Freeland who are the couple who got her started in all of this.

Head Coach Megan Penno and Assistant Coach is Ben Lozinsky. Team Advocate is Tina Copp. Lozinsky and Copp will be with her in Germany.

Trent Hills Now congratulates Blair on gaining a seat on the court of the women’s basketball Team Canada.

Basketball has been a sport at Special Olympics World Games since 1968. For information about the Special Olympics World Games go to: https://www.berlin2023.org/en/sports/our-sports

 

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