Worcester Schools Host Special Olympics

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Joe Parello, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

A truly special group of athletes will take the floor at several local venues this weekend as a part of The Special Olympics Winter Games.

Saturday and Sunday, the greater Worcester area will play host to over 2,700 athletes from all over the Commonwealth competing in four different events. Their participation in The Winter Games marks the conclusion of a journey that began with training and team-building way back in early December.

“These events are the culmination of our winter season,” organizer Matt Ruxton said. “These athletes began working for this months ago, and the majority of them took part in our fall sports season as well. It’s just great to see them succeed and show everyone what they can do.”

The Special Olympics began in 1968 as a set of events aiming to raise the self-esteem of those with intellectual disabilities. Since then, the games have spread to over 220 locations worldwide, and allowed athletes to participate in over 30 sports.

The four sports up for competition this weekend are basketball, alpine skiing, bowling and floor hockey. The Alpine skiing event will take place on Wachusett Mountain, bowling will be held inside AMF Lanes in both Auburn and Shrewsbury, and floor hockey will take place at South High School. Basketball is expected to be the largest event, and will be hosted by 10 different colleges and high schools throughout Worcester County.

One such school is Worcester Academy, which is in its fifth year hosting Special Olympics events. The school is donating its gym for the event, and Athletic Director Ed Riley believes it is a great experience for student volunteers.

“It truly is an eye-opening experience for a lot of our kids,” Riley said. “To see people with disabilities work and compete as if they are not disabled, it’s amazing to see. We expect about 20 of our students to volunteer with the games in various capacities.”

Riley added that he was pleased with the students who volunteered to help this Saturday and Sunday since Worcester Academy goes on Spring Break Friday. Another school that will be helping out with basketball is Worcester State University. Though it is the school’s first Special Olympics event, Worcester State will have nearly every one of its varsity sports teams represented as volunteers at the games through a partnership with the National Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

“We expect to have around 50 different athletes helping out when the games come to town,” Assistant Athletic Director John Meany said. “They will be assisting the coaches and athletes, but also running the ‘Olympic Town” to entertain the kids.”

“Olympic Town” is a place where athletes can participate in games, watch movies and create art in between competitions. Also included in the festivities will be a dance for all athletes at Mechanics Hall Saturday night at 6:30. Patty Ross, the coordinator for Oxford’s basketball team, says that the Winter Games are always an event to remember.

“It’s fantastic, we just love it,” Ross, whose daughter Nicole plays on Oxford’s team, said. “It’s really fun to see them play at the Olympics and see how far they’ve come from the first practice. When we first started, they were like ‘What’s a rebound?’ Now they look great playing, and they have so much fun.”

The Special Olympics Winter Games begin Saturday. You can find a full schedule of events here.