Thousands of athletes and volunteers are descending on Terre Haute, Indiana, this weekend for the Indiana Summer Special Olympic Games.
There are 2,500 athletes coming to these games with nearly 500 chaperones, coaches and volunteers, said Dennis Blake, program coordinator for northeast Marion County.
The event is every year on this weekend in June and athletes come from all across Indiana to compete. Athletes from 45 different counties are attending this year’s event and each athlete is put in divisions based on their abilities.
“We basically take over Indiana State University,” Blake said. “There are nine dorms that we occupy at ISU and six at Rose Hulman. It is a huge event and we pretty much take over Terre Haute.”
The events the athletes will be competing in include aquatics, bocce, bowling, cycling, horseshoes, powerlifting, track and field and volleyball.
“It is the same competition as high school, college or Olympic track and field and the same style of events,” Blake said. “There are no modifications to any of the track events.”
IU student Mark Alvarado has a brother with Down syndrome who participates in the Special Olympics. Alvarado has been going to the Indiana Special Olympics since he was 10 and is volunteering at this year’s games.
There are various roles volunteers can take to help out with the Olympics.
Alvarado is going to be part of the unified track team.
“I’m going to be a unified partner competing alongside the athletes,” Alvarado said. “We are going to be offering encouragement, making it more fun for them, and helping with the competition.”
Finish Line and the National Guard are providing volunteers to help assist with the games, Blake said.
There are also many volunteers that help run and organize the events, and Blake said about 300 to 400 other volunteers help the event run.
“They’ve been setting up for two weeks,” Blake said. “All the food has to be prepared. ISU’s cafeteria is handling that.”
Alvarado said he is happy to volunteer and knows just how important volunteering is to the event.
“The event would not be able to run without the volunteers,” Alvarado said. “It’s great to know you’re a part of something that is helping people that don’t often always get a chance to compete in organized athletics and have a chance to have fun like this and be themselves. It’s nice to know you are the piece that makes it all work.”
The Olympics are broken down into smaller units of athletes and the games are made up of the different clubs in Indiana who compete in the event. Each club has chaperones that help the athletes get to the right place.
There are 14 different areas in Indiana and each area has a certain number of clubs.
The chaperones and volunteers help the athletes have a great time.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” Alvarado said. “For a lot of them, it’s the highlight of their year because it’s a time where they can be with all their friends. They are staying in dorms, and it’s a whole weekend where they can hang out with their friends. It’s also cool to see them be able to win a lot of medals.”
Blake echoed Alvarado and said this is the culmination of these athletes’ training.
“This is the highlight of a Special Olympics for Indiana,” Blake said. “This is the most important event that they go to and is an opportunity for them to compete.”
