Leslie is an extremely hard working and a devoted athlete who participates in swimming, bowling, floor hockey and softball. She also volunteers at speaking engagements on behalf of Special Olympics. Leslie has been a very active participant with the Toronto Metro Leafs for almost 20 years. She has played goalie for the team, served as a coach, mentor for her fellow players and even donated hockey drill books to the team. She also plays summer softball with the Central Jays playing as catcher and serves as an equipment manager.

Claudia Diebel is involved with the Toronto Metro Leafs floor hockey club and Barracudas Swim Club. She is an extremely devoted and passionate volunteer. One of her volunteer roles have involved bringing her D players to and from hockey practice and tournaments, meeting with all of them beforehand and then making sure they all are able to arrive home safely. She brings about 7-10 athletes to practice who would not be able to get to the gym on their own. Claudia's devotion to Special Olympics is best summarized by a recent act. At a Mississauga floor hockey tournament, Claudia bought some raffle tickets for the 50/50 draw and ended winning almost $400 and she donated the money to the team right there and then without hesitation, virtually paying the tournament fee and bus transportation expense.

    This year’s Torch run in Toronto was a big success! The Toronto run raised just under $20,000 in shirt sales and 320 runners participated.

    Marathon of sport this year netted $135, 000 for the Special Olympics Canada Foundations. On Saturday May 28, 2011 at Havergal College Motionball held one of its signature events: The Marathon of Sport in support of Special Olympics! Over 40 athletes from Special Olympics Ontario participated!

It was presented by Sun Life Financial, the Marathon of Sport was intense day of athletic competition that saw Motionball supporters compete alongside Special Olympians in a range of sports.

Marathon of Sport has become a must attend event for young professionals. This year we grew from 30 to 40 teams. Teams of 10 were joined by a Special Olympic athlete and competed against each other in Ultimate Frisbee, Flag Football, Soccer, Volleyball, Kick Ball, Bench Ball, Tug-of-War and Bocce with points awarded for victories and ties in each event. Fun additions to the event included:

Massage station for participants
Marble Slab ice cream and frozen yogurt bar
Lunchtime performance by Low Level Flight, featuring lead singer Ryan Malcolm
Live DJ
Family Fun Zone- a new initiative that gave participants’ children an opportunity to play with Special Olympic athletes aged six and under.

Thanks to all the athletes who participated. Make sure to stay tuned for next years event.

Special Olympics Toronto would like to wish good luck to Monique Shah who will be competing in Track & Field at the Special Olympics World Games in Athens Greece . Monique Shah is an athlete who trains with North York Jets in the Toronto Region.

From all of us at Special Olympics Toronto, we wish you good luck and the entire Special Olympics Team Canada success in Athens.