Come to McMaster’s gyms on the first Saturday in March and you’ll find flying dodgeballs, hype energy, and people making new connections. This is inclusion in action, also known as the Marathon of Sport –an annual fundraiser and day-long sports event run by motionball McMaster.
McMaster’s group is one of over 30 university chapters run by motionball, a national not-for-profit that raises funds and awareness to support the Special Olympics Foundation in Canada.
Since 2018, McMaster’s chapter has been run by cohort after cohort of passionate executives leading efforts. This year’s team has 14 members, with roles covering fundraising, outreach, media, logistics and event direction. Almost every person on the team this year is a returning member; people tend to get involved, and stay involved, for years.
This year’s executive directors are Jude Slim, a fourth-year commerce student, and Julia Naccarato, a fifth-year Life Sciences student. Both got involved because of personal experiences with people in their lives who didn’t get enough opportunities to engage in social events or sport.
“I have two cousins who are individuals with intellectual disabilities,” said Slim. “I noticed how those opportunities didn’t come as easy for them. So I decided to be a part of the difference that I wanted to see… and it was very rewarding to say the least.”
motionball McMaster runs events through the fall and winter semesters. Their biggest is the annual Marathon of Sport, set this year for Saturday, March 7.
It’s a day-long event that brings together McMaster students, members of the Hamilton community, and Special Olympics athletes in the area to spend the day playing sports together. Students can sign up as team with friends, and will be joined by others leading up to the event (they’re encouraged to connect ahead of time to come dressed as a team – whether that’s fun hats or dressing to a theme).
(Photo by Aydin Visanji)
They get matching shirts and spend the day competing in a variety of sports, rotating through different stations: like basketball, dodgeball, and a Just Dance station.
Score is kept based on how much they’ve fundraised leading up to the event, overall team spirit, and whether they win any of their games.
“It’s a day to celebrate all the hard work that got put into it throughout the year, all of the money that we were able to fundraise, and celebrate the athletes,” said Naccarato. Most importantly, it’s about bringing people together in a community, having a good time, and not putting pressure on anyone to win.
Last year, motionball McMaster raised roughly $13,000. They’re aiming for $15,000 this year as a nice, round number. “But we also try not to focus too much on the goal,” Slim said. “I feel like people can get caught up in it…. At the end of the day, the goal is really to just raise any awareness or money for Special Olympics Foundation.”
A group shot from last year’s Marathon of Sport, which raised nearly $13,000 for the Special Olympics Foundation. (Photo by Lianhao Qu)
It’s rewarding to see the impact you have on the community, even in just one day of the Marathon of Sport, Slim said.
Naccarato has been involved since her first year. After she graduates this spring, she plans to find opportunities to stay involved with similar initiatives. “I think what makes me continue coming back is just wanting to do more and do better for the motionball community and the Special Olympics community,” she said.
“It’s not a club that you can necessarily reach a goal and call it done…. you’re bringing awareness to people, awareness to the community. And I don’t think that it’s something that you can just drop out of.”
(Photo by Aydin Visanji)
Naccarato hopes the Marathon of Sport will encourage people to expand their circle and the type of people that they interact with. “Whether [Marathon of Sport] is your first time playing sports with someone that is different from you or you’ve done this many times, just to be able to encourage that more in your life.”
By giving people more confidence in being inclusive, Slim said, it can help encourage them to be inclusive in all aspects of their life.
“I just want people to realize how easy it is to be inclusive, because I think a lot of people might overthink it,” said Slim. That might not be coming from ill intent, but it creates a barrier. “At the end of the day, inclusivity is really just treating others how you want to be treated and in a fair way.”
Want to get involved in this year’s Marathon of Sport? Here are some key dates:
(1) Team Captain Forms and Free Agent Forms open: Monday, January 31, 2026 (close on February 14th)
(2) Marathon of Sport: Saturday, March 7, 2026
Follow motionball McMaster on Instagram for updates and to learn more.