If anything is going to get us out of the house on 7am on a spring strategy, it’s a good cause – and also a good workout.
The shining sun, blasting music, and infectious positive energy helped as well.
Of course, we’re talking about Saturday’s motionball Marathon of Sport Toronto presented by Foot Locker to benefit the Special Olympics Canada Foundation. It all went down at the Hangar at Downsview Park.
In case you weren’t there, you missed a chance to compete, mingle, and celebrate with 700 fellow young professionals for a day of team building, athletics, and minor injuries that reminded us that our bodies aren’t quite what they used to be.
True to its name, the occasion was quite literally a marathon of sport, with activities like soccer, basketball, bench ball, ultimate Frisbee, and flag football. In the weeks leading up, each team was responsible for raising funds to benefit the Special Olympics movement in Canada. Each team was paired with a Special Olympic athlete or two, offering a chance to get to know and interact directly with those whom the cause supports.
Upon arrival, participants were given Under Armour t-shirts to wear in an assortment of colours, along with motionball baseball caps.
Aside from the sports (which got quite competitive at times), other highlights included pizza from Pizza Nova, on-site massages from Lawrence Park Health, and a candy station sponsored by Summerhill Market that you could access once you signed up for the YELLOWCARD Campaign.
Of course, the MO of the YELLOWCARD campaign is to encourage people to take the pledge to eliminate the ‘r-word.’
After everyone went home to shower and pretty up, participants headed to SpeakEasy21 to celebrate an incredible day on the field.
After a marathon of sport, everyone deserves a drink (or two).
For those still in the dark, motionball is a non-profit organization started by the Etherington brothers that benefits the Special Olympics Canada Foundation (SOCF) through a series of nationwide sporting and social events, including the motionball galas that we young professionals know and love.
Though most associate the motionball name solely with the annual hot-ticket galas that take place in Toronto, Calgary and Halifax, a major fundraising component to motionball is its Marathon of Sport series, which is actually the charity’s flagship event.
And we say ‘flagship event,’ we mean that this year’s Toronto event made motionball history by raising over $275,000 net in support of the Special Olympics Canada Foundation.
So, yeah, that’s pretty huge.
If you missed out, we expect to see you there next year – perhaps over a ‘friendly’ game of football.
