Special Olympics

I am a huge fan of ’Special O’ and all it represents. This weekend we were able to go to a basketball tournament, cheer on the athletes and add to their coufers. It was wildly exciting and we had a great time. I would encourage anyone to join one of these events and help out by volunteering or just spend some money.

To top off the event, we won two of the gift baskets being raffled off. One had wine, wine glasses, a wine towel, and a really nice basket. The other was a nice thick set of towels and a floor mat.

I was relieved that what we won we could use. Lots of things were being raffled, but a bunch of it was stuff I would regift or donate somewhere else. As it was, the wine basket has a nice gift certificate we are going to pass on to someone else.

Many people don’t really understand the point of Special Olympics, and I am not going to go into a rant, but let me offer this: Some people have the physical ability to play sports but lack the intellectual ability to abide by the rules and keep up with their feet. Those are Special Olympic athletes. Some people have the heart for compitition, but lack physiological control and skills and balance. Some athletes cannot conform to general sports practices because of other disability related issues, but this is their chance to be on a team, to participate, and play. There are a million disabilities and reasons why a person can be excluded from participation in a sport. Special Olympics is about including people, not excluding them.

Their motto, ”let me win… but if I cannot win, let me brave in the attempt.”