Stowsentry.com - Special Olympics Ohio celebrates 30th winter games

by Eric Marotta | News Leader Editor

Sagamore Hills -- Not everyone can strap on a pair of skis or ice skates and go fast, but for the past 30 years, hundreds of people with disabilities have been getting the most out of life by overcoming such challenges.

"To me, these three or four events are among the toughest," said Pam Davis, Summit County director of Special Olympics.

While the Special Olympics program in Ohio was incorporated in 1975, Davis said the common belief then was winter sports were beyond the abilities of Special Olympic athletes.

"Not everyone can ski; not everyone can ice skate -- I can't do any of it," Davis said. "Some of them are really good at it."

The athletes are paired with mentors and get a chance to practice their sport prior to the actual competition, which takes place every year in January at Kent State University and at Brandywine Ski Resort in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Davis said the program for Summit County participants is paid for by the County of Summit Developmental Disabilities Board, which covers the cost of reserving practice time at the Kent State Ice Arena, where skating events take place and at Brandywine Ski Resort. The ski package includes equipment and coaches, who help the athletes get up to speed in their events.

Many of the 200 participants per year also spend the night between the two days of competition at the Clarion Inn in Boston Heights -- one of the event's highlights, as many of the athletes have been participating for years.

"They get to swim in the pool, they get to be with all their peers; they get to see their friends from other counties," said Davis.

Most of the participants find out about the Special Olympics program as soon as they begin receiving services through the developmental disabilities board.

The athletic program, which includes sports year-round, changes peoples lives, said Glen Blackeny Sr., co-director for Special Olympics Area 10. (Area 10 includes Summit, Portage, Stark, Wayne and Medina counties.)

"It's fantastic for individuals who have disabilities. It gives them the opportunity to participate and challenges them," he said. "They're very pleased at what they can accomplish and the families are astonished."

Special Olympics Ohio hosts seven statewide competitions each year and every year sends a team of athletes to compete in the World Games, which alternate between winter and summer sports.

The 19 sports offered range from aquatics to volleyball -- and include a "Unified Sports" program, where athletes are teamed with others with similar abilities.

Special Olympics athletes and their families are never assessed fees to participate. Funds are raised at the local, area and state levels to cover the costs in providing the training and competition opportunities.

For more information, see www.sooh.org, or call Special Olympics Ohio at 614-239-7050.

Email: emarotta@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3171