Local Special Olympics athletes hosted a viewing party last weekend for the movie Champions, a comedy drama that focuses on a team of basketball players with different intellectual abilities.

Folks were invited to head out to the Gull Lake Lyceum Theatre for the showing and to meet the athletes for $10 per ticket, half of which went right back to the Special Olympics in Swift Current. 

The theatre’s Manager, Cole Girodat, said the organization contacted him late last month with the idea.  

“They had this specific movie in mind, so they requested it, and it just flew off from there,” he said. “We haven’t really held an event like this, but we’re open to it.” 

Funds from the April 16 event and two additional showtimes, plus multiple generous donations, racked up a total near $500.  

“We're a nonprofit charity, too, so we know the importance of the community coming together for events like this,” he added. “We know the money goes straight back into the community to support these athletes. It helps them attend their events and it helps them navigate obstacles that they may face at these events. So yeah, we're just really lucky that they thought of us for this fundraiser, and we hope that more people have events like this and feel that they can reach out to us to have them. 

“To see them represented like this in a movie, that they could come to and relate to and laugh at and enjoy, it just felt really good to see them experience that.”