Anybody who attended the pep rally for Special Olympics Yukon (SOY) athletes Tuesday night would have been hard pressed to leave without a huge smile on their face.

Close to 30 of Yukon's best Special Olympians are set to participate in the Canada Summer Games in Brandon, Manitoba next week.

As special guests and team members took the stage at the Elks Hall, excitement and team spirit rang throughout the building perhaps even out onto the street. Decked out in their new Adidas uniforms, it was clear these athletes were ready to compete.

Bring on Brandon.

'This is the second pep rally I've been involved in since I've been here,' said Serge Michaud, Chef de Mission for Team Yukon. 'I thought it was just great. Not one of those athletes came on stage without a smile from ear to ear. It was really cool to see.'

Michaud said he could see the confidence in the athletes, some of which have already brought hardware home from previous Games. They know they have just as much of a chance as anyone in the country to achieve success, he said, and SOY wants them to celebrate that fact.

'They have every right to know where they've been and where they're going.'

Having said that, Michaud was quick to point out it's not about who wins how many medals in Brandon. Personal bests for the athletes are just as important, as well as having fun and representing Yukon to the best of their abilitiy both on the competition field and off.

Track and field coach Robin Chambers agreed, pointing out for many of the athletes, this will be their first time at a national-level competition.

'Most of the athletes travelled to provincials (in Comox, B.C. last summer), so they have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen,' she said. 'But this is the next level up, so the competition is going to be a lot higher.

'Mainly, I would just like to see everybody play with all the effort they have put in all winter long, to realize it's paid off.'

This will be Chambers' first time at the national Games as well, although she expects to get some assistance from track athlete Britt Cowper, who will be attending her third Summer Games.

'She's telling me what to expect,' laughed Chambers. 'Britt's a seasoned athlete now.

'Based on her practices and how she did in Comox, I'm very excited to see how Britt performs.'

At Tuesday's pep rally, Cowper was unveiled as the Team Yukon flag bearer for the opening ceremonies in Brandon, an honour which Chamber's said is very well deserved.

'Britt had sort of an injury earlier this year. She fell in practice and needed some stitches on her nose. But even through all that, she still got up and came back to practice, she kept going hard.

'The fact Britt was named flag bearer is awesome.'

Michaud said there were several athletes nominated to carry the flag for Team Yukon and everyone of them would have done an excellent job. But the selection of Cowper seemed very fitting, he said, considering her veteran experience on Team Yukon. He added it will be 'very neat' to see her walk into the stadium carrying the flag.

'I'm extremely excited,' he said about the Games. 'I never thought six years ago ... when I was still with Quebec and I would go to the (Special Olympics) Games, the Yukon would have four or five people there. And that was great.

'But the big success in the soccer program recently has enabled us to send more athletes now.'

At the 1998 Summer Games, SOY (formally Yukon Special Olympics) sent two track athletes while one track athlete, one swimmer and five bowlers represented the territory in 2002.

This time around, there will be one track athlete, one swimmer, five bowlers and 10 soccer players.

'It's huge,' stated Michaud. 'We're exactly the same size as Newfoundland for these Games. We've really built the program, really grown.

'We have to commend the people who came before me as well, they set the groundwork.'

When it comes to all sports, it's not only the athletes who play a huge role in success, he added. It's also about parents, coaches, volunteers and support staff people who give their time to bring the athletes to practice and get them ready for competition.

'They're also heroes in my mind.'

Team Yukon leaves for Brandon on Monday and competition gets underway July 18 and runs through the 22.

The names of the athletes and coaches who will represent the territory are as follows:

Chef de Mission

Serge Michaud

Team Manager / Assistant Chef

Grant MacDonald

Athletics

Robin Chambers Head Coach

Britt Cowper

5 Pin Bowling

Janine Smith Head Coach

Bernie Hoodless Mission Staff / Support

Aimee Lien

Jason Storms

Julien Richard

Theresa Roberts

Wayne Thomas-Waugh

5 a side Soccer

Tim Shoniker Head Coach

Christina McGillivray Coach

Mike Stanley Coach

Tom Gibbs Mission Staff / Support

Daniel Atlin

Kennny Atlin

Garry Chaplin

Rachel Dawson

Duncan Gibb

Edward Kaye

Chris Lee

Owen Munroe

Stefan Oettli

Swimming

Jenni Beauregard Head Coach

Mallory Pigage