When Kathy Rose travels to Pyeongchang, South Korea at the end of this month for the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games, her decade of training will have come full circle.
Then in late February, she’ll return to the place where it all started: Whitefish Mountain Resort, just a stone’s throw from her Kalispell home.
Rose is eligible for the world games after winning a gold medal at the Special Olympics Montana State Winter Games at Whitefish Mountain Resort last year. As a snowshoe athlete, she will participate in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4 x 100-meter relay events.
When she heard she had been selected to participate in South Korea, Rose said she was overcome with emotion. She has been active in Special Olympics Montana for 10 years.
“I started crying,” she said last week.
The 55-year-old Kalispell resident spent the winter training, including a December session at an Olympic training center in Lake Placid, N.Y. She is one of two Montanans heading to the world games, according to Nolan Taylor, the training and competition coordinator for Special Olympics Montana. The other is Dan Hazen of Great Falls.
“She’s super psyched to go to South Korea,” Taylor said. “When you put on the team USA jersey – wear the red, white and blue – to be part of that is exciting.”
Rose’s trip to South Korea demonstrates the opportunities offered by Special Olympics Montana, Taylor said. There are around 3,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from roughly 110 countries slated to participate in South Korea.
“A lot of people don’t realize that our athletes have the possibility of traveling on to a world competition,” Taylor said.
With that mind, people like Taylor and others who dedicate their time to Special Olympics Montana put a lot of hours into preparing for the organization’s two major competitions of the year: the summer and winter games. And it’s why donations and volunteers are critical to ensure that Montana’s athletes with intellectual disabilities get a chance to participate every year.
According to a press release, Special Olympics Montana is a “43-year-old movement that enables children and adults with intellectual disabilities to train for life through sports.”
Jon Decker, vice president of sports and competition for Special Olympics Montana, says his organization receives no funding from the government or an umbrella Special Olympics body. It relies on grants, donations and sponsors.
“It’s a misconception that we get all this money from all these other sources,” Decker said. “We don’t, so we have to go beat the bush.”
The winter games have been held at Whitefish Mountain Resort the past 17 years and the upcoming 18th annual state games are scheduled for Feb. 24-26. The games kick off on Sunday, Feb. 24 with registration and then a parade through downtown Whitefish beginning at 4 p.m., complete with a torch carry.
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Joseph Hayes, with the Havre Blue Ponies, right, digs in while racing in the 50-meter snowshoe event during the 2010 Special Olympic Montana Winter Games at Whitefish Mountain Resort. File photo by Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon |
University of Montana mascot Monte is expected to be on hand prior to and during the parade for photos and entertainment. The parade will lead into an opening ceremony at Depot Park.
Preliminary heats are held on Feb. 25 for alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and snowboarding, broken down into traditional classifications like the 200 meters, giant slalom and downhill. That night there will be a carnival and dance at the base lodge.
Final heats are on Feb. 26, along with award ceremonies. More than 300 athletes from 25 teams around the state are expected to participate, fewer than the 1,400 or so who participate in the summer games.
Winter sports involve more costs and logistics than the summer games, Decker said, including equipment, transportation to ski resorts and lift tickets. Athletes are required to train for at least eight weeks before they can participate in the competitions.
Volunteers are vital to the games and perform a variety of tasks, from helping with the parade and registration to working during the events. To learn more about volunteering, contact Karen Kimball at (406) 837-0319 or [email protected].
For more information about Special Olympics Montana, including how to donate and become a sponsor, contact vice president of development Jim Lawrence at [email protected] or call (800) 242-6876.