“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
That is the oath of the Special Olympics, an organization that provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic type sports for children and adults with mental disablities, giving them the oppotunity to participate in physical activity, gain physical fitness and share team bonding and skills with friends, family and other Special Olympics athletes.
Ouachita, in its effort to continue its mission of “Making a Difference” in our community and our world, will sponsor the 10th annual Special Olympics basketball event Thursday, Feb. 23, from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. This event is a basketball tournament that will host eight teams, made up of 150 athletes. The competitive events consist of passing, dribbling and shooting.
The athletes coming to Ouachita are from Area 10, a region that consists of Bryant, Benton, Hot Springs, Malvern, Glen Rose, Bismarck, Arkadelphia and Gurdon. Participants are age eight and up.
Students in the Adapted Physical Education Methods class will be running the event. “This can be a life changing experience,” said Dr. Mike Reynolds, chair of the department of kinesiology and leisure studies. “There will be over 100 volunteers who will cheer, clap, do the wave, jump the rope, flop the parachute, push a wheel chair, tie a shoe lace. They will make this day exciting and memorable.”
Reynolds said Special Olympics events are special and benefit the athletes and others “because they get the opportunity to visit a college campus, interact with college students and participate in physical activity. A plus is that each athlete receives a ribbon and each team receives a trophy.”
Part of Special Olympics mission says, “Athletic training and competition gives people with developmental disabilities the chance to demonstrate to the world all they are capable of achieving. It provides a forum to compete not only in athletics but in life.” These athletes do not let their differences hinder them from giving their all and striving to win, an attitude that amazed Reynolds and is the reason why he enjoys working with Special Olympics.
“For 24 years, I coached skilled athletes on the high school and collegiate level. They strived for excellence, trained to succeed and gave their all. Special Olympics athletes possess the same attributes. I am amazed at their ‘I can’ attitude. They motive me to do more.”
Picture by Jessica Bowling.
Caption: Some winners pose with their ribbons at the Special Olympics basketball event on Ouachita’s campus in 2010.
