Special Olympics Wyoming is hosting their summer games in Gillette May 18-20. The games were postponed due to the pandemic since 2020. This is the first time the games have been held in Gillette in 15 years.
“[The] Gillette community actually signed up to host these games starting in 2020 and 2021 for the two-year cycle [and] this is the first games the first full statewide event that will be back in person since prior to the pandemic, so we're delayed a couple of years but we're absolutely looking forward to our new host community of Gillette,” said Jen Haines, president and CEO of Special Olympics Wyoming.
The Special Olympics provides sport training and competition for youth and adults with intellectual disabilities. The games are national and international. Wyoming has hosted Special Olympics events since 1972. That year it was in Casper. In addition to the summer games, which were most recently hosted in Laramie and rotate to different communities, they also host winter games, a fall tournament and a sports classic.
Around 315 athletes will participate in this year’s summer games, which are being held at a few different locations throughout the city. Local host venues include the Campbell County Recreation Center, Campbell County Aquatic Center, as well as Campbell County High School and track at Thunder Basin High School.
“In the summer state games, you'll see athletics, swimming, basketball and powerlifting,” Haines said. “At the summer sports classic in Casper, we’ll offer unified golf, bowling, bocce [ball and] cycling...we really do try to rotate through the sport season so that athletes who are interested in competing in a variety of different sports can do those basically year-round.”
The number of athletes is expected to be lower this year than in previous years but the hope is that it will rebound in coming years. Area games, which are regional athletic meets in different regions of the state still took place during the pandemic. These competitions were only for one day and didn’t require as much travel as the longer and larger statewide competitions.
“Our athlete numbers are a bit lower than we would have seen prior to the COVID pandemic,” she said. “Unfortunately, a lot of teams still are fundraising and doing some things to get back online this year since it's been a while since we've had those state competitions, so we were expecting our numbers to be down quite a bit just with everyone coming back online.”
Haines added that more volunteers are needed to help with the events. She said this may be due to a lack of awareness of the event taking place locally since it hasn’t been in Gillette for over a decade.
“We are also in Gillette for 2024, so if we don't quite get the volunteer numbers this year, maybe people will see it and find out just how awesome it is to go to a Special Olympics event and help out and get some additional volunteers for next year as well,” she said.
The Special Olympics has no age limit and includes events for participants as young as eight years old. Additional athletic programs are offered for children ages two through seven.
“While [age] eight is the minimum to compete in actual Special Olympics events, there is no maximum age limit. In fact, here in Casper, we have a powerlifter that's getting ready to turn 80 next month that has been competing for many years. And so really, for as long as our athletes are able to enjoy and compete in sports, we offer that for the duration of their lives.”
The summer games also offer a few unified sporting events that include Special Olympics athletes playing with athletes without disabilities.
A “flame of hope” torch run that supports local law enforcement will be held on May 18 at 10:25 a.m. It begins at the Gillette Police Department. This is done in recognition of local, county, state, and federal law enforcement that have been carrying the “flame of hope” in various legs of the Wyoming Law Enforcement Torch Run to raise money for Special Olympics Wyoming athletes.
In addition to the athletic events, an opening ceremony will take place at the Cam-plex Central Pavilion on May 18 at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. A non-public banquet and dance with a Roaring ‘20s theme will be held as part of the summer games as well, which is a favorite for many participants, Haines added.
