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By Matthias Petry
Just as brave in the attempt as the athletes are the people who are organizing the Special Olympics at USU right now, trying to make the day of the event memorable for all the athletes and the spectators as well as the volunteers. It will take place on Nov. 15 in the Fieldhouse and the HPER Building. The statewide competition is twice a year. In spring the event involves track and field competitions; in fall athletes compete in several basketball and swimming competitions. "The event is to give the athletes the opportunity to compete in a safe and friendly environment and to promote feelings of achievement and camaraderie with others and also to give the community a chance to interact with the Special Olympics athletes," says liberal arts senior Brigham Young, director of the Special Olympics Invitational Organization. The Special Olympics Invitational Organization is part of the Val R. Christensen Service Center, which has 13 other programs such as Best Buddies, Habitat for Humanity and the Aggie Leadership Academy. Last year the Invitational team even received a Robins award as best service organization on campus for the organizing the Fall Invitational in 2002. More than 500 people attended that event, which was brought to life by more than 350 volunteers and 1,300 hours of service. However, Young is not sure how many people to expect this year: "So far, 320 athletes have signed up, but we usually expect more. As for people coming to watch the event, I really don’t know how many to expect," he says The Special Olympics Invitational Organization will not be the only one helping to make everything run smoothly: "We are trying to involve all the clubs and organizations on campus, as far as, if they want to do a performance, if they want to just bring their club out to be cheerers and make the event more fun just by their presence," Young said. "We are also trying to get them involved in the Olympic Village where they can have a booth set up for games that the athletes participate in." But unlike the Olympic Village at the Winter and Summer Olympic Games, this one is not meant to be accommodation for the athletes, but rather another opportunity for them to take part in some more fun competitions. "The Olympic Village is an area for the athletes where they have booths with games like a bean-bag toss or 'pin the smile on the clown,' things like that," Young said. "Those are examples of what we had last year. And when they participate at a booth, they win a prize." If you want to help as a volunteer or organizing the event or if you have any questions, contact Brigham Young at byoung@cc.usu.edu.
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