A send off was held on Tuesday evening for the largest team of athletes ever to attend the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games.

Special Olympics Yukon has selected a group of 18 athletes that will be heading to London, Ont., on July 13-17.

The athletes will compete in four sports out of the competition's eight.

Attending the Games for aquatics will be: BJ McKay, Cole Robinson-Boivin and coach Christine Larsen.

For athletics, Owen Munroe and Jessica Pruden will be accompanied by coach Lindsay Agar.

Participating in five-pin bowling will be Garry Chaplin, Jean-Sebastien Gallant, Marvin Hall, Aimee Lien, Carrie Rudolph and coach Janine Peters.

The Yukon will also be sending an entire soccer team, made up of Rachel Dawson, Willy Everett, Teddy Jackson, Christopher Lee, Darrin Lucas, Gaetan Michaud, Stefan Oettli and Colin Sterriah. Coaching the team is Christina McGillivray, Brian Gillen and Hans Oettli.

"It's very exciting,” said Natasha Jaczek, chef de mission for Special Olympics Yukon.

The athletes have been working hard for the past few months to prepare for the Summer Games, and the excitement has been building as the date draws nearer.

"It's huge, a lot of athletes haven't even been out of the territory,” Jaczek said.

When they arrive in London, the 18 athletes will be joining more than 1,000 others from across Canada.

While Team Yukon has always sent a group, this is their largest yet.

The athletes were selected based on training requirements. They had to stay positive, have a team spirit and attend every practice.

At Tuesday evening's send-off, Special Olympics Yukon announced that the flag bearer will be Robinson-Boivin for his incredible dedication to his sport.

The swimmer will bring the flag into the stadium at the opening ceremonies, followed by his fellow Yukon athletes.

"He's been really dedicated,” Jaczek said. "He's just got a really good attitude towards sports.”

Each coach nominated a potential flag bearer, with Special Olympics Yukon making the final selection.

The send-off, held at the Beringia Centre, included speeches from Jaczek, as well as executive director of Special Olympics Yukon Serge Michaud and minister Archie Lang.

Also there to wish the team well, was Special Olympics Yukon president Jim Tucker, and Whitehorse McDonalds Restaurant manager Jeremy Pagarigan.

Many friends and supporters were there to cheer on the group.

"There was a lot of excitement,” Jaczek said.

Each athlete was introduced and got their chance to walk to stage in front of their friends and families.

The 2010 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games are being held in London, Ont. In addition to the four sports Yukon athletes will be participating in, softball, rhythmic gymnastics, power lifting, 10-pin bowling and athletics will be hosted.

It was announced today that a tree would be planted in London to honour every one of the athletes that are attending.

A total of 1,426 trees for each athlete, coach and mission staff member were planted at the EcoPark, donated by London's Fanshawe College.