The action is already well underway when I arrive at the Carmacks Recreation Centre Saturday morning. It’s a grey day and the village is drenched and cool. But inside the gym, a blur of neon green and orange t-shirts practice ringette drills. High fives abound, the athletes, all part of Special Olympics Yukon (SOY), participate in the first activity of their very packed Northwestel Development Games day.

A swathe of blue fabric – the kind you’d see at a trade show – divides the room in two. On the other side, athletes are run through a battery of tests; tests for balance, aerobic fitness, flexibility. It’s all part of an initiative that started at the World Games in Minneapolis in 1991, when organizers noticed that their Special Olympians weren’t able to access the same level of health care as the rest of the public.

The initiative is called “Healthy Athletes” and Yukon’s own version began in 2007. The first session was christened “Special Smiles” and dentists in Whitehorse opened their doors to provide dental exams. Now, eight years later, there are seven disciplines offered, including “Fun Fitness.”

“What’s beautiful about this program is that once an athlete goes through it all, they go through an education piece with one of the professionals,” says Serge Michaud, executive director of Special Olympics Yukon.

Soon, the athletes switch to their next sport, golf, which seems to be a fan favourite.

Gaetan Michaud, the executive director’s brother, is one of the athletes to step up to the line. Last week he became the first SOY athlete to sink a hole in one.

They practice their driving, aiming for cones set up across the gym. The balls stick to the cones in a fit of velcro.

Before too long, it’s time for the pool. The athletes load up into the bus, towels in hand, for the tiny covered seasonal pool. Some athletes take to the water like fish, floating and diving without problem. Others, safely folded into lifejackets float in the pool’s shallow water.

Everyone participates.

“This is an opportunity for our athletes to engage in different ways and also for local audiences to see our athletes in action,” says Serge Michaud.

Everyone is now dry and enjoying a spaghetti feast prepared by the dozen or so volunteers that accompanied the group.

The room has the typical quiet of a room after athletes have been busy for a day. But as the food hits their mouths, the chatter picks up.

Outside I ask Michaud why this day is so important.

He is quiet and looks away from me for almost 20 seconds. When he makes eye contact again, he says simply, “Look at the room.”