Photo by ALESSIO BERGADANO
14 March was a busy day at Inalpi Arena in Turin as the Floorball competition of the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 continued. Floorballers competing in three categories (Men’s/Mixed Unified, Women’s Traditional, and Men’s Traditional) took to the floor to play in the semifinal and final matches.
A standout team of the Turin Games has been Special Olympics Namibia’s Floorball team, “The Brave Boys.” The team, coached by Meundju “Rocky” Kenaruzo, has experienced many firsts in their lives this past week: first time on a flight, first time leaving their home country, first time off the continent, and their first time at a World Games. The week has been a whirlwind for the young men who have been the image of professionalism and determination as they earned their way to the top division and the bronze medal match of the Traditional Male division in their very first international competition.
Their coach, Rocky, shared, “the Brave Boys are indeed brave. One player trained with no shoes, causing their feet to blister from the rough ground and heat. Others are orphans; they support each other. We didn’t even have proper sticks until a few months ago when other Special Olympics Africa teams shared their equipment, gear, and clothing with us—the boys made their own from wood sticks tying them together. We only just received shoes before arriving in Turin. But look at what they have done with nothing.”
After the first 10-minute period was over, Special Olympics Kenya was up 3-0 with their #4 Hayward Odogo standing out early star player. Namibia matched competitiveness though the second half and kept fighting despite the score. Special Olympics Namibia’s #7 Moses Fredricks made sure his presence was known with over a dozen defensive steals, giving his team momentum as he transitioned into attacking moments or shots on goal. Special Olympics Kenya came out victorious 8-0, taking home the bronze medal in their division.
Namibia’s Coach Rocky, was still beaming despite the results of the week, “We played to win, but even when we do not win, we are brave in the attempt.” The Special Olympic Athlete Oath was and still is in full effect.
Photo by Gennaro Masi/Gennaro Masi
On the women’s side, Special Olympics Spain took on Special Olympics United States of America (USA) in the Traditional Female B Floorball division bronze medal match with Special Olympics Spain clinching the win 5-3 over Special Olympics USA. Both teams’ goalkeepers were forced to make diving saves preventing additional goals by their opposition.
#5 Erika Johnson on Special Olympics USA, held her own as she consistently cleared the ball from the back of her team’s half allowing her teammates to go on the attack—she even joined in with a shot that forced the Special Olympics Spain keeper to make a sudden save, pushing the ball away from the goal mouth by an inch. Spain’s finishing was the better of the two today, as they walked away with the bronze medal and a 5-3 victory.
Photo by ALESSIO BERGADANO
Outside of official competition, volunteers even got in on the action during a break in play between the semifinal matches and the beginning of the medal matches. Many grabbed available sticks from the Unified Floorball Experience earlier in the week and showed others how to play—demonstrating how to strike the ball, block shots, and techniques for passing. The men and women playing wore smiles the whole time as more and more participants continued to join the game.
Eliminated teams stuck around at the arena to watch and cheer on their fellow competitors in the stands. Between matches, athletes could be seen introducing themselves to other delegations, pin trading, and getting into the spirit of the fans. The support and cheering teams received, no matter how many home fans traveled with them, was remarkable.
Some family members remained in the stands all day with a group of Irish fans staying and cheering for every team even if Special Olympics Ireland was not playing. Speaking to Special Olympics Ireland Floorballer Joseph “Jojo” Sheehan’s family member, Shantelle Sheehan, she shared “every athlete deserves to be cheered for whether our athletes or not.” Another one of Jojo’s relatives expressed, “This is one big family, the Special Olympics family, we will cheer for them all.” No one was left unsupported in Inalpi arena today.
International Technical Delegates have been officiating the Floorball matches all week and traveled from Asia and other countries in Europe to be on site. Yong Yuan (China), Kang Jung-hwan (Korea), Kim Sun Mi (Korea), Katariina Haapasaari (Finland), Marcel Mueller (Switzerland) and Roland Brandle (Switzerland) are all certified Floorball officials with the International Floorball Federation. Each official rotated through divisional, regular, and medal matches to ensure fair competition for all games.
Behind the scenes, photographers and videographers, technical delegates, Special Olympics staff, and others involved in the running of the Turin Games at Inalpi Arena were focused on providing athletes and fans with a day of competition they will never forget.
And that’s a glimpse into a day at Inalpi Arena during the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025.
Leave a Reply