Ypma, Van Parys qualify for Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat

Jamie Van Parys and William Ypma, wearing Team Ontario shirts (Van Parys showing the reverse side), will be competing at the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat, Alberta in August. Van Parys has qualified in bocce, and Ypma in golf. (Chris Abbott Photo)

Chris Abbott, Post Correspondent

Two local athletes have qualified for the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

‘We Shine Together’ is the slogan for the August 10-15 event, which will feature 1,700 participants and competition in 10 sports, including bocce and golf.

William Ypma, from Special Olympics Ontario – Tillsonburg, will compete in golf. Jamie Van Parys, also from Special Olympics Ontario – Tillsonburg, will compete in bocce. Both qualified through the Special Olympics Ontario Summer Games, wining silver medals last July in Brantford, and will be members of Team Ontario.

Bocce will be played indoors on artificial turf in Medicine Hat, a first for the Special Olympics Summer Games.

“It was very hot (in Brantford),” said 26-year-old Van Parys, recalling mid-July heat warnings.

A controlled climate should provide a better environment for athletes, officials and fans, but playing conditions will be different. They will not be playing on outdoor grass.

“It (indoor bocce) will be a new experience for me,” said Van Parys, who will be coached at nationals by a Brantford coach. “The ball rolls different (indoor). Indoor, in theory, it should be perfectly flat. They said it will be an artificial mat over concrete.”

It won’t change how he prepares for the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games.

“No, I don’t think I will change anything. Just go with it. You never think about the opponent, just go out and play.

“I am very excited,” he added, looking forward to his first trip to Alberta. “I have never met people from out-of-province, so I want to meet people from different areas.”

To help prepare, he attended a Team Ontario training camp in Bracebridge in November.

Ypma will be competing at his second nationals.

“I went for bocce in 2018,” said Ypma, one of three Special Olympics Ontario – Tillsonburg athletes who competed in Nova Scotia, placing 5th out of 60 athletes, losing a three-way tie for third based on point differential. Tillsonburg’s Corey Mulholland had won the Gold Division bronze medal that year based on points.

Ypma remembers being around 10-years-old when he started using a putter, and he has maybe 20-25 years playing rounds of golf.

This year, he is competing as a Level 5 golfer.

His golf game has been improving ‘a little bit,’ he said, with regular games and practice through the summer, mostly at Tillsonview Fairways in Tillsonburg. He plans even more training this spring/summer.

His main goal is to be consistent on the greens, he said.

Ypma admitted feeling a little nervous when he learned he would be competing at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games… but those nerves always settle once the competition starts.

“The first couple of throws, kind of (nervous) in practice,” said Van Parys, going into his fourth year of bocce. “Then you kind of get into your rhythm and everything kind of zones out.”

Ypma, who also attended a Team Ontario training camp in Bracebridge (not the same as Van Parys), met other Level 5 golfers in his cabin. And powerlifters. There were nearly 450 athletes at the two training camps from different sports.

“William and Jamie are the only two Special Olympics athletes going to the (2026) nationals – so they are representing Tillsonburg,” said Tillsonburg coach Carolyn Mulholland. “We’re hoping to get them out in the community a little bit more wearing these (Team Ontario) shirts.”