Aug. 29 is going to be a busy day on the links as Whitehorse Toyota and the Meadow Lakes Golf Club present the Special Olympics Yukon Golf Gala 2020.

It is the 20th rendition of the tournament and is one of Special Olympics Yukon’s largest fundraisers outside of the Festival Dinner Auction. The day will provide SOY supporters an opportunity to go out and have fun, all the while supporting a good cause.

”If someone told me in April we were going to have a golf tournament in August, I would have said you were nuts,” said Serge Michaud, Special Olympics Yukon’s executive director.

Michaud said the SOY staff have been working hard to put on an event that will be fun for the golfers, but that also follows the protocols of the day as directed by the chief medical officer of health.

“Since this whole pandemic hit, we’ve taken a due-diligence approach to everything we do,” said Michaud. “Our staff has been very good at saying what can we do instead of what can’t we do – of course, while respecting the orders of the day.

“We are at a place where if it’s not benefiting anyone to consider breaching orders, but that said, I think back to when we started programs again.

“We took a good hard look at what we were doing and how we were doing it to conduct programs again. Obviously, new protocols are in place and we will be applying some of those to the Golf Gala.”

When the Golf Gala was approved, the Yukon was still in Phase 2 of its COVID-19 reopening strategy. Now in Phase 3, Michaud said they are sticking with their original plan.

“Originally, when we were given approval, we were still only allowed 50 to gather outside as long as people socially distance,” said Michaud.

“We made the decision to stick with our plan, A, because it was approved, and B, because it is a good plan.”

The traditional format for the Golf Gala is a 16-team, nine-hole shotgun start. The 20th year will use tee times. Twenty-four teams are registered and will leave onto the course in 10-minute intervals.

“Right off the hop, we figured we could do this but we would have to do it with tee times,” said Michaud. “It means we will be out there a little bit longer at Meadow Lakes, but we shouldn’t see more than four, maybe eight people, on any given tee box at a time.”

Although the Golf Gala is going to have a different look, Michaud said Special Olympics Yukon has received good feedback on what they’ve planned.

“We are excited to see what it looks like,” said Michaud. “I can tell you the response has been overwhelming. When we launched our advertising, we were basically sold out, and now we have six teams on a waitlist.

“I think it alludes to the fact that people are looking for events, they want things to do. Obviously they want to be safe, I want to thank Whitehorse and all the players and teams that have registered because they have trusted their health and safety to us.”

Michaud said they want to hold quality events for the community but they aren’t going to forsake the health and safety of people.

”We are going to do everything we can to do it in a safe environment,” said Michaud.”

Along with switching from the shotgun approach, Michaud said the prize structure is going to work differently as well but there will still be the fun contests the Golf Gala is known for.

“We aren’t doing first, second, third, fourth, fifth place like we’ve done traditionally,” said Michaud. “It will be very much a golf tournament that will have lots of prizes for contests on each hole.

“Men’s long drive, you usually have one prize but this year we will give out top three and our infamous marshmallow drive will be out there.”

Another change is how people enter the contests. To limit contact with volunteers, Michaud said the contest package was added to the registration fee.

“The price is $125 and we aren’t going to ask for another penny,” said Michaud.

At the end of the day, there would usually be a barbecue but that will not take place this year.

“I think what we will miss is the barbecue after the end, where everyone came in and we had a little putting contest, and everyone is gathering and hobnobbing,” said Michaud.

“There will be a little bit of that but not like it used to. We are going to try and keep it at 20.”

Michaud said they hope to return to the traditional format in the following years.

“We hope to go back to that format next year, but maybe we will like the format this year,” said Michaud. “It is not about what I like, it’s about the golfers.”

Despite the changes, Michaud said it’s going to be a grand old time and is thankful for everyone coming out to support Special Olympics Yukon.