CSULB Online 49er: v8n124: Athletes fulfill their dreams

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Special athletes fulfill their dreams

By Nathalie Brun
On-line Summer Forty-Niner

...Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.

Under this inspiring rallying cry, which is the Special Olympics' oath, 170 million children and adults with mental retardation around the world have been able to fulfill their dreams of becoming athletes, thus reaping the rewards and joys of discipline, physical fitness, teamwork, self-confidence and friendship.

What started out in the early 1960s as a simple day camp for mentally handicapped people has blossomed into a national and international organization which fills a unique and important need: providing a structure in which special needs people can compete in athletic events, from the local level all the way up to world-class level, as well as participate in year-round sports training.

"This is an incredibly successful organization. We serve 10,000 athletes in Southern California, and hope to double it in the next three years," says Janet Schulman, president and CEO of Special Olympics Southern California, a chapter of SO.

The success of this non-profit organization can be counted in many ways. Special Olympics now has chapters in the 50 states and in 148 other nations, and continues to develop and enhance programs nationally and around the world. Athletes compete in a variety of sports such as basketball, track and field, gymnastics, skiing, ice-skating, and even snow-shoeing and golf.

Participation in the games is growing as well: this year's attendance at the 32nd Annual SOSC Summer Games, held at Cal State Long Beach June 15-17 for the third year in a row, was up to about 1,700 athletes, more than last year, according to SOSC game management volunteer John Poptanich.

But if SO can boast of success in terms of numbers, its pride lies in an intangible, but much more important fact: thanks to its efforts, countless lives of special needs people, who otherwise might have never had a chance, have been irrevocably changed for the better. "Sports and activities are such a big part of our lives, that it obviously affects your whole life," says Rafer Johnson, 1960 Olympic gold medal decathlon winner and chairman of the SOSC board of governors. "For the first time they are slapped on their back for something they have accomplished. People cheer them for results of competition that came about because of their hard work, discipline and courage. If you are given a chance to build some skills and acquire some abilities you never had before, and you are able to display theses abilities with success, that's a carryover to anything you do, to the classroom, to your job, to your family relationships. Lives are changed, and people are made different by the whole process."

Johnson credits SO for changing the public's perception of the abilities and skills of mentally retarded people in a positive way. "These kids are good. They can beat you and me in most any sport. The only way people can realize these athletes are good is to (come out and) see it. Meets like this one gives exposure." This exposure has led corporations such as Toy "R" Us and Carl's Jr. to hire athletes directly, Johnson says.

For instance, athletes such as Tawnee Spence, named outstanding male Special Olympian, and a silver and bronze medal winner in the 7.5K and 10K cross-country skiing competition at the 2000 SO World Winter Games in Alaska, is employed at Bear Mountain Ski Resort, according to the 32nd Annual SOSC Summer Games program.

Other benefits are summed up by Shelly Doutnit, a basketball player who competed in this year's summer games at CSULB: "I receive a lot of friendship and love. My teammates are incredible people. They are...sweethearts. You compete for people; they are so nice. It's like a dream come true." "It's a lot of fun," Kathryn Trimble says just after competing in a summer games shot-put event for which she obtained third place. "You do good things, and if you don't win, you've tried your best."

Being the best you can be thanks to support from other people is exactly why Rafer Johnson got involved in SO over thirty years ago, and why he has been involved ever since. He credits the support of his little San Joaquin Valley community for providing him with the sports structures that allowed him, through personal hard work, to eventually become an Olympic champion. "People gave me a chance. I became "the best you can be,'" Johnson says, referring to the title of his autobiography, "not because I am so talented, but because people helped me on every turn of the road. We should all be able to do at least that. That's what (SO) does."

Johnson met Eunice Shriver, the founder and honorary chairman of SO, through his friendship with Robert Kennedy. One of the Kennedy sisters, Kathleen, was mentally retarded, and the Kennedy clan loved sports. Desiring for years to help special needs people through an athletic program, Mrs. Shriver officially launched the organization in 1968 with an international meet in Chicago, and it was a resounding success. Rallying around Mrs. Shriver to develop the program"was the first thing I did subsequent to the assassination," Johnson says. After Robert Kennedy's tragic death, "many of his friends got involved for the first time in community things. It was almost a way of getting us out of our doldrums. It was a great beginning."

This great beginning has now evolved into a full-fledged sports organization, patterned after the Olympics, complete with a torch run and opening and closing ceremonies. World summer and winter games are held every four years (the 2003 SO World Summer Games will take place in Ireland), and each chapter has its own yearly summer and winter events.

Special Olympics Southern California holds its annual summer games at CSULB, and winter games in the Big Bear Lake area. Saturday tournaments take place throughout local communities each week. Athletes can all participate in area events, and must go through a selection system based on skill level and age in order to participate in the larger competitions. Any special needs person over eight years of age may become an SO athlete after having passed a physical.

The strength of SO lies in the numbers and level of dedication of its many volunteers. The ratio of volunteers and athletes at an event like the 32nd Annual SOSC Summer Games is three or four to one, according to volunteer John Poptanich.

They are coaches, organizers, chaperones, support people, gofers; family and community members, corporate teams and members of fraternal organizations, who claim their lives have been changed as much, if not more, than those of SO athletes. "If only I could give back half as much of what I get out of it," says Harry Carpenter, a basketball player and surfer who is volunteering at the 32nd Annual SOSC Summer Games for the second year in a row. "It's amazing to see the passion and the love in their eyes. It's pure. Just seeing that makes everything worthwhile." "Special Olympics does more for the volunteers than for the kids," Roger Boyar says. A retiree, he has dedicate a major part of his free time helping SOSC. "You get a good feeling. You really know you've accomplished something when one of these special kids hugs you and drags you with him to the winner's circle and tells you how special you are," Boyar says.

Clearly, SO has successfully accomplished its mission to make winners out of everyone whose life it touches!