Edmonton twins competing in World Dwarf Games

The Vanderlinden twins have scored themselves an opportunity to compete on the world stage.

“I’m super excited. This is honestly one of the biggest things I’m going to be doing in my life,” says Brandon Vanderlinden. “I’m also nervous because I will be playing in front of thousands of people but it’s going to be fun and exciting.”

Brandon and his twin brother Jared are off to Germany this week to compete in the World Dwarf Games against other athletes from around the world.

“We see average-height people on TV playing all of these sports and we thought ‘will we ever have the chance to do that stuff?’” said Jared.

The Vanderlinden twins were born with Achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. The pair will compete in three sports during their time in Germany: soccer, basketball and table tennis.

“Our whole lives, we’ve been made fun of and talked down upon,” said Brandon. “This will definitely give us a chance to prove the haters wrong, just to prove that we can do something in our lives.”

The twins got the ball rolling in 2019 when they started training for the event.

“But COVID happened, so the World Dwarf Games was supposed to happen in 2021 but was postponed for two years,” Brandon said. “So we’ve been preparing ever since 2019 I’d say. It’s been a long time getting ready for this.”

They are two of nearly four dozen Canadian athletes competing in Germany.

“The fact that we have 46 athletes who are funding themselves is an amazing accomplishment,” said Brittany Theis, the co-chef de mission for Team Canada. “There is a little bit of a reimbursement but for the most part they funded themselves to go.”

Theis says the World Dwarf Games isn’t as well-known around the world, so many athletes are forced to pay for their way there.

“We are still pretty grassroots and there are a lot of people who can’t go because they can’t afford it,” said Theis. “If we had more funding, if we could increase our visibility and the awareness of our organization then imagine the turnout we would have, and the funding we could get to get those people there who simply can’t afford it to get there.”

Theis hopes the World Dwarf Games will gain more attention. The Games are on the radar of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who sent a message of support to Canada’s participating athletes.

“Sport has an incredible power to bring us together and the more inclusive we make it, the more powerful it becomes,” Trudeau said. “But to include everyone, we need visibility; we need heroes that kids from all backgrounds can see themselves in; we need true trailblazers that inspire hope and wonder; we need you.

“I know you’ll make Canada proud.”

Theis says it’s important to ensure sports are more accessible for everyone.

“Most of us play sports with average-height peers, and that’s just what we grow up with and we don’t think any differently, but you might not think you’re all that great of a player,” she said. “But if you take that same skillset to the World Dwarf Games, or play on that level of playing field, you might realize you’re actually quite a good player.

“It’s simply important to boost confidence for those with dwarfism in Canada and around the world.”

More than 500 athletes from 29 different countries will be competing this year.

“I think it’s important for young kids to see older versions of people who look like them playing sports, being active, competing, winning,” Theis added.

The World Dwarf Games are the largest international sporting event held exclusively for athletes with dwarfism and offers 15 different sports.

Brandon and Jared’s older brother will be producing a documentary about the trip and of the twins’ experience competitively playing sports for the first time. The team set up a fundraising page, mostly to help cover the costs of flights to Germany.

“Me and Brandon, we never gave up. We just kept on going, we knew everything was possible,” said Jared.

The World Dwarf Games are scheduled to run from July 28 to August 5 in Cologne, Germany.