Prince George, B.C.- When it comes to demonstrating the Spirit of Sport among Special Olympic athletes, no one does it better in B.C. than Barbie Conway.

She has been named the recipient of the  Special Olympic B.C. Spirit of Sport award.

It is presented each year to the one  Special Olympian in B.C. who exemplifies the true meaning of sportsmanship.

The award was presented to Barbie by Thom Ross (outgoing local coordinator for SOBC Prince George) who noted her 16 years of  involvement in the Special Olympics.  An avid swimmer, cross country skier, golfer, Barbie is also a member of the athletics team.  She has  attended 3 Special Olympics National competitions and has been to World Games once for Cross Country skiing.  

Ross  told the story about Barbie’s compassion for her fellow athletes, “At the National Games in St. Albert one of her team-mates did not receive a medal. She knew how hard he had tried and she wanted to lend him one of her medals for the team photo so he would not feel left out.”

Barbie was one of eleven athletes in B.C. nominated for the award.

This is the third time in the past 18 years that a Prince George athlete has won the Spirit of Sport award. Mathew Brewer won in 1999 and Sherry Rempel won in 2002.