Athletics offer more reasons to compete than simply winning or losing. The opportunity to test one’s mettle, to feel the camaraderie of being part of a team, to be outdoors and to embrace the visceral joy of moving fast: All are virtues that make sports a worthy endeavor.
These virtues will be on full display when athletes converge on Whitefish Mountain Resort for the 15th Montana Special Olympics Winter Games. And of course, picking up a medal or two doesn’t hurt either.
Beginning with the opening ceremony on Feb. 28 and continuing through March 2, an estimated 350 athletes comprising more than 25 teams from all over the state will compete in a range of winter sports, including: alpine and cross country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoe racing. A one-day floor hockey competition will also take place at the The Wave health club in Whitefish.
“People with disabilities give 110 percent,” Karen Kimball, one of the games’ organizers, said. “I think there’s a lesson for all of us there and it’s a very, very happy event.”
The modern Special Olympics grew out of a camp started by Eunice Kennedy Shriver at her Maryland home in 1962 for children with intellectual disabilities. The camps and competitions rapidly spread in the years that followed. The first International Special Olympics Winter Games were held in 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colo. In 2004, President George W. Bush authorized federal funding for Special Olympics programs. The first Special Olympics World Summer Games held outside the United States were in Dublin, Ireland, in 2003, in which 7,000 athletes from 150 countries competed.
Today, more than half a million athletes with intellectual disabilities in North America participate in the Special Olympics’ 30 sports. Though athletes younger than age 8 are ineligible, there is no upper age limit on competitors. It is the only organization licensed by the International Olympic Committee that has the right to use “Olympics” in its title.
In Whitefish, the festivities will kick off at 4 p.m., Feb. 28, with an athletes’ parade, where they will be joined by law enforcement, Whitefish Resort ambassadors, Winter Carnival royalty, yetis and Monte, the University of Montana mascot. Students from all over the Flathead who have been corresponding with the athletes via the “Adopt-a-Team” program will be present. And the band, “Fresh Ink,” will perform during the parade and at the opening ceremony following in Depot Park.
The following Saturday, up on the slopes of Big Mountain, athletes will compete in a series of qualifying heats, to group those with similar abilities together. The ski courses range from the mellower slopes to the steep runs off of Chair 2. Sunday is scheduled for the final rounds of the games.
The emphasis of the games is on respect, acceptance and inclusion for all, but Kimball also noted the competition is challenging. Racers who veer off-course or fall have a time limit to recover and make it across the finish line, but they do not receive aid while the event is underway.
“It is a real competition because these are lessons they have to learn about life,” she said. “It’s the real deal.”
The Winter Games would not be possible without hundreds of volunteers, Kimball said, and she is always seeking new people interested in helping out on a range of activities from skiing to the Victory Banquet.
“People get hooked on it because they go there to volunteer and then when they walk away, they feel like they’ve gotten more than they’ve given,” Kimball said. “I think that’s what gets people so involved in it.”
Anne Trout, who lives at the Lighthouse Christian Home in Kalispell, has been skiing with her twin brother, Ryan, for more than 20 years, and hits the slopes every Thursday at Blacktail Mountain. She switched from cross country to downhill racing several years ago, and competes in the slalom, G.S. and downhill events for the Lighthouse Eagles USA Team.
“I just love to participate in it, because I feel there are other athletes out there who may not be able to,” Trout said. “There is a lot of need out there.”
Trout, 37, said she doesn’t feel nervous before competition because she prays with her teammates before every event. She is grateful to the staff of the Lighthouse Home, as well as her family for all the support they give her, especially when it comes to athletic pursuits.
“If it wasn’t for them and the staff here, we probably wouldn’t be able to compete,” she added.
Chrissy Siefke, 29, is a snowshoe racer on the Kalispell Krushers team.
“The reason why I love snowshoeing is because you just get a really good adrenaline rush,” Siefke said. “It makes you feel good.”
And while she’s got her eye on the gold, it’s not what she loves most about the event.
“What I enjoy about Special Olympics is being me, and watching others compete and rooting them on,” Siefke said, “and giving them a high five.”
For more information on the event schedule and volunteering, contact Karen Kimball at 827-0319 or [email protected].