Surprise! A trip to the Olympic Games

The expression on Johnathan Botelho’s face on Tuesday at the Northern Sport Centre belied his thoughts.

He didn’t scream when Ronald McDonald told him inside the fieldhouse he’d been selected to attend the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics as part of the McDonald’s Champion Kids program. He didn’t even express joy and jubilation by jumping up and down.

Either the 11-year-old Prince George resident was trying to contain himself, or didn’t believe what he heard. Later on, after reality set in, Johnathan described his initial reaction.

“When he said my name, I’m just like, what’s going on? I didn’t know what was going on. I thought it was a prank.”

A practical joke it was not, although his father Gil Botelho was under the same assumption. McDonald’s informed him they’d chosen his son about a month prior to Tuesday’s announcement.

“I thought someone was trying to pull my leg, and as the conversation went on, she knew all about him and his school and all these details,” Gil said. “I realized that this sounded pretty real, but honestly, I was in such shock. I still turned the computer on and I Googled it to find out if this McDonald’s Kid program existed and there it was. Then I’m screaming at my wife, ‘get down here. this is real, this is unbelievable.’ It was one of those things. How do you contain it? Just thrilled, overwhelmed and proud, and thank you to McDonald’s for this fantastic opportunity for him, and for our city. This is a coup for Prince George.”

A Grade 7 student at Sacred Heart School, Johnathan got nominated by Grade 2/3 teacher Nuala Power for the program. Power, Jonathan’s former teacher, was among a group of individuals at the Northern Sport Centre on Tuesday for the announcement.

Jonathan’s mother Tasha, his six-year-old brother Matthew, grandparents and other relatives were among those who took in the celebration. McDonald’s representatives on hand included Prince George franchise owners Dean and Val O’Connor and Western Canada vice president Rob Chiasson.

To make the announcement, Ronald led a group from the NSC’s main floor into the fieldhouse, where Jonathan took part in his first practice of the season for the Prince George Youth Soccer Association Pro Touch Junior Academy. The news also caught Johnathan’s Pro Touch teammates off guard.

“They were shocked,” he said. “It was like, ‘hey I want to go. Want to trade spots?’”

After the announcement and a few messages, the group returned upstairs for a video message from Olympian Cassie Campbell, a former member of the Canadian women’s hockey team, and a celebratory cake cutting.

Soccer is among a variety of activities Johnathan is involved in. He also participates in track and field, hockey, volleyball, basketball and theatre productions. His enthusiasm for sports and great communication skills have led to opportunities to act as a cub reporters on CKPG TV’s Cougarview sports program. He’s also acted as a junior announcer at CN Centre during Prince George Cougars’ home games, and has done camerawork for Shaw TV, including a recent telethon in Quesnel.

As a McDonald’s Champion Kid, Johnathan gets the opportunity to stay in Vancouver for four days and three nights during the Winter Games. He’ll attend Olympic events, meet athletes, tour the Olympic Village and other venues, and meet more than 50 other Champion Kids from around the world. Also, as a correspondent, he can report back to friends, family and all the world about his Olympic experience.

In addition to his admission into the Olympic events, McDonald’s covers airfare and accommodation for Johnathan and Gil. Gil said they’d probably arrange for Tasha and Matthew to join them.

When asked what he thought of getting nominated by Powers, Johnathan’s reaction was, “I’m speechless on that one.”

Jonathan’s favourite Olympic event is men’s hockey. He hopes to get the opportunity to see his favourite player, Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, skate between the pipes for Team Canada.

Keeping major news a secret from a loved one for a month may seem like torture, but surprisingly, Gil said they avoided any close calls.

“There was a couple of moments,” he said on Tuesday. “He was really excited about today because it’s his first day of junior academy. He was excited because he was in the program, which is an invite only program, and he got new cleats on Sunday. He was raving about Tuesday and about this program and the academy and new cleats, and I just about said, and then guess what? And then I had to stop myself.”

Johnathan is one of 11 Canadian children chosen for the program.

“It’ll be phenomenal. What an experience, something he’ll never forget,” Gil said.

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