OUR HISTORY
motionball was founded in 2002 by 3 brothers – Paul, Mark and Sean Etherington. Growing up, they learned the importance of volunteerism through their parents, who were, and are to this day strong supporters and advocates of the Special Olympics movement. After many years of volunteering at events and coaching Special Olympics teams, the brothers decided to connect a cause they were passionate about to their own peers. With the help of their friends and professional networks, motionball was born.
The first ever motionball Gala was held in Toronto, raising $45,000 for the cause, and run entirely by volunteers. Marathon of Sport came to be in 2003, and within a few years, the event was replicated in Vancouver, Halifax and Calgary. Fast forward to 2013 – motionball was operating in 8 cities across Canada, and began to expand onto university campuses. By 2015, motionball delivered its first ever annual donation of $1 million to the Special Olympics Canada Foundation.
Today, motionball continues to be a volunteer led organization, with many founding board members (the Etherington Brothers, Graham White and Darcy Montgomery) still volunteering their time to the organization. Mark and Paul Etherington remain heavily involved with the day to day operations acting as volunteer President and Chairman respectively, along with a small and passionate national office staff who support our volunteer Event Directors from coast to coast. In 2019, this ever expanding network were proud to donate for the year $2.1 million to Special Olympics.
VOLUNTEER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF
VOLUNTEER EVENT DIRECTORS
Tasha
Bell
Calgary Gala
Julie
Gathercole
Calgary Gala
Annie
Miliken
Calgary MOS
Carrie
Soby
Calgary MOS
David
Ogbuah
Cape Breton MOS
Chloe
Zinck
Cape Breton MOS
Karen
Unger
Edmonton MOS
Dave
Jones
Halifax Gala and MOS
Cher
Digdon
Halifax Gala and MOS
Chris
Rafuse
Halifax Gala and MOS
Alexandria
Haggarty
HAMILTON MOS
Jeremy
Haggarty
HAMILTON MOS
Ashley Manson
(Miller)
Kelowna MOS
Derek
Fuhr
Kelowna MOS
Jamie
Carpenter
Kelowna MOS
Alex
DesRochers
Kingston MOS
Emma
Jackson
Kingston MOS
Anthony
Colonna
Montreal MOS
Riccardo
Zerbino
Montreal MOS
Reza
Mashkoori
Ottawa MOS
Liz
Mackenzie
Ottawa MOS
Ben
MacDonald
PEI MOS
David
Muise
Saint John MOS
Danielle
Robertson-Boersma
Saskatoon mOS
Kim
Davy
Saskatoon mOS
Scott
Southward
Toronto MOS
Diana
Newman
Vancouver MOS
Jaclyn
Cummings
Vancouver MOS
Monica
Manaigre
Winnipeg MOS
Rachel
Gordon
Winnipeg MOS
motionballU Volunteer event directors
Meghan
MacLeod
Acadia University
Julia
Sylvester
Acadia University
Rachel
Bayer
Bishops University
Erika
Scott
Bishops University
Natalie
Hamel
Brock University
Bronwyn
Monty
Concordia University
Ryan
Beauchamp
Concordia University
Grace
Pink
Dalhousie University
Steph
Hawley
McGill University
Lauren
Turner
McMaster University
Vienna
van Veen
McMaster University
Eric
Gratton
Mount Royal University
Rowan
Gibbson
Mount Royal University
Kailtin
Vaillancourt
Nipissing University
Anna
Kobylansky
Queens University
Cassie
Zumwalt
Queens University
Saint Mary’s University
saint mary’s university
Parneet
Sidhu
Simon Fraser University
Dilpreet
Thiara
Simon Fraser University
Olivia
McLennan
thompson rivers university
Mae
Hobenshield
thompson rivers university
Neema
Maen
UBCO
Maddy
Laranjo
UBCO
Nathan
Smyth
University of Alberta
Becca
Page
University of Calgary
Alia
Nielson
University of Calgary
Lucas
Omazic
University of Guelph
Emily
Newton
University of Guelph
Kacy
Rawlyk
University of Saskatchewan
Julianna
Sparks
University of Saskatchewan
Erika
Tworzyanski
University of Toronto
Rafaela
Steiner
University of Toronto
Shayla
MacMillan
University of Winnipeg
Brooklyn
Parlene
Ontario Tech University
Vanessa
Pietrantonio
University of Ottawa
Sarah
Young
Western University
Erin
Heidecker
Western University
Lindsey
Bruce
Wilfred Laurier University
Annie
Mills
York University
Carly
Albaum
York University
Ava
Glesby
University of Manitoba
Kaycee
Hunt
University of Manitoba
Breanna
Andrews
University of New Brunswick
Matthew
Minchel
University of New Brunswick
Accountability & Governance
motionball is a not for profit organization that prides itself on introducing Canadians to the Special Olympics movement through integrated and inclusive sport and social events. We appreciate there are costs associated with running fundraising events and we are mindful of the investment, however, we also firmly believe our events champion integration and awareness between those with intellectual disabilities and those without. The greatest tool we have in levelling the playing field and allowing our participants to meet, interact and engage with Special Olympics athletes is by having them spend a day together on the playing fields and creating meaningful relationships through sport.
As an organization, we acknowledge the importance of being good stewards of the dollars donated to motionball and therefore we follow an internal objective to ensure our Marathon of Sport events (which represent 80% of our fundraising totals) keep their event costs to under 20% of gross revenue, and our Gala events at below 50%.
We are proudly a volunteer lead organization, and from inception, our Founders, Board Members & Volunteer Event Directors receive no compensation for their considerable time, effort and enthusiasm for making a difference in their communities.
As motionball has grown so too has our professional staff and as of 2022 motionball has 6 full-time employees who support our almost 100 passionate motionball Volunteer Event Directors and the 50 events hosted throughout the year. We are committed to a thoughtful investment in our paid team in order to expand motionball’s reach and ultimately increase funding and awareness of Special Olympics in Canada.
In terms of our 2022 Revenue & Expenses:
Gross 2022 Revenue $2,597,514
Gross Event Costs $834,637
Operating Costs $181,074
Donation to SOCF $1,600,000