London has been announced as the host city for the upcoming 2026 Special Olympics Ontario School Championship.
The kickoff event took place at Lord Dorchester Secondary School, where the London Police Service, Western University, and Special Olympics Ontario were supporting partners of the local Special Olympics school athletes.
Among those in attendance was the Chief of the London Police Service, Thai Truong.
“We jumped at the opportunity to host,” Truong said. “We are big supporters of the Special Olympics, our organization is a big supporter of young people’s inclusion, and it’s about community. So we took this on right away.”
The 2026 School Championships will welcome over 1,000 secondary school student-athletes and educators from across Ontario and Canada to London from May 26 to 28, 2026.
Throughout the 2025/2026 academic year, more than 10,000 high school athletes with and without intellectual disabilities will participate in qualifying competitions across the province, all striving for the opportunity to represent their school on the provincial stage in London.
“We’re going to be very present,” said Truong. “We must be fully engaged with the organization, and we’re going to ensure that we support our athletes, as well as all our guests and visitors.”
He also encouraged Londoners to support the event by participating in fundraisers and attending activities hosted by the London Police Service.
Special Olympics Ontario offers sports programming to over 20,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities in more than 100 communities and 200 schools across the province.
As part of the kickoff, student-athletes took to the soccer pitch for a Special Olympics qualifier, competing for a spot at the upcoming provincial games.
Kickoff Event of the 2026 Special Olympics Ontario School Championships (Daniel Monroy – XFM)
