This year the Special Olympics celebrates 50 years and Hamilton was one of 50 communities across Ontario who celebrated Special Olympics Day on Monday.

A flag raising ceremony was held at Hamilton Police Headquarters. The day honored the legacy of the past 50 years while looking forward to the next 50.

This day also marked the countdown to the largest celebration, the inaugural 2019 Special Olympics Ontario Invitational Youth Games (IYG). The games will take place in Toronto in May and will mark the first time ever that high school-aged students with intellectual disabilities will have the chance to compete on the world stage.

Hamilton has seven athletes competing and Delta High School also has a unified soccer team of six.

To draft an athlete visit: youthgames2019.com/draft