2011 World Games Updates
For updates and news from the Wisconsin delegation for the 2011 Special Olympics World Games in Athens, Greece, visit http://www.specialolympicswisconsin.org/mb/taxonomy/term/13
For updates and news from the Wisconsin delegation for the 2011 Special Olympics World Games in Athens, Greece, visit http://www.specialolympicswisconsin.org/mb/taxonomy/term/13
Special Olympics Wisconsin is blessed to have the support of parents, family members and guardians, the volunteers, coaches, Agency Managers, games management team members, donors, our law enforcement community, Board of Directors and staff that joined together again this year to make sure the 10,000 athletes we serve received the best possible opportunities to achieve their dreams.
It was a tough year. But with all of us pulling together we beat the odds. We continued to add services and experiences for the athletes, continued to grow our cause and demonstrated to everyone that we are one of the finest Special Olympics programs in the world. And if you are reading this…you are part of this success! So crack a smile and nod approvingly.I wish you and yours joy and happiness this time of the year however you celebrate. As for me and my family we will be having a Merry Christmas and looking forward to a Happy New Year!We are here for the memories of our wonderful sports competition, but I must mention the most interesting thing today was that golfer Ricky Goetzinger let Team Rhode Island shave his beard off since he got the silver behind Rhode Island’s gold medal! Photos can be seen on Facebook of this fabulous “event!”
Todays temperature was a little bit lower than yesterday, but not much as at 10 pm tonight, it was still 85 degrees and 95 for the heat index….ugh……
Today, swimmer Ann Hellmuth swam for the gold followed by the awards ceremony where swimmers Chris, Ann and Jessica all walked away with their medals listed in yesterday’s blog!
The basketball team won the bronze today against Maryland, 45-17, and every single player on the team scored, but the most memorable shot was at the buzzer when Dan Spiegel shot the ball and it got stuck between the backboard and the support beam holding the basket from the ceiling. Nearly 100 Wisconsinites, including most of Team Wisconsin since they were all finished competing, were in the crowd cheering on the team (and I even did the splits for the crowd….ow.) Photos of the game are on Facebook!
The soccer team had their awards ceremony today to receive their silver medal for what seemed like the closest game every played at the National Games. Congrats to the team!
The closing ceremonies took place tonight, but athletes (and coaches) look most forward to time after the ceremony as it’s “trading time!” Athletes begin to trade some of their delegation clothing and pins for other states’ attire and pins. The floor was packed with the 3,000 athletes and additional coaches and staff “shopping” for the goods of other states.
Small Change, a rap group out of Atlanta took the stage and rocked the arena as athletes began dancing right off the bat! Kristina DeBarge, nominated for the 2009 MTV video music awards for best video choreography, also performed at the ceremony. FeFe Dobson performed as her first album released in 2003 and debuted at number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Album chart. Her songs have been used in shows like American Dreams, Vampire Diaries and has co-written songs with Miley Cyrus. Local dancers took to the stage and the ceremony had a “youth rally” theme focused on making sure everyone in the U.S. spreads the word of social justice and inclusion…We were able to see Wisconsin’s own global messenger Martha Hill on stage as well! Special Olympics is truly changing the world…one athlete at a time!
The games are officially closed and Team Wisconsin boards its two buses tomorrow at 6 am to arrive in Madison around 2 pm in the afternoon. Thank you to all families, volunteers, coaches and staff who made this week such a success! This is Kelly signing off until our next National Games in four years.
Kelly Kloepping
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Special Olympics Wisconsin
Today I spent the morning at powerlifting and was able to see two of our guys in action - Matt Manderfield and Brian Schuster (Jeff Batz competed in the afternoon as well . It was nice and cool and dark in the theater where they competed, but all changed as I spent the next 6 ½ hours at the track in the heat to catch the entire team (shoulders got a little pink)!
Things are starting to slow down a little as athletes are slowly finishing their finals competitions, though you can still find our bocce athletes playing bocce in the dorm hallways (they never stop! See photos on Facebook). The swimmers were caught eating pizza in the conference room on our dorm floor as they are one of three sports still competing on Friday yet and need the energy!
Staff member Troy Anderson and coach Linda Dahl can be seen doing extensive laundry for the teams (and some staff who didn’t pack enough J), as this weather leaves some interesting "scents" on uniforms!
The media is still impressed with Team Wisconsin as track and field athlete Ashlynn Hughes was interviewed by TV 11 here in Lincoln and we continue to see occasional news articles about our athletes. There’s no end to our abilities!
Lincoln hosted a flag football demonstration and Wisconsin will be one of the first to unveil the sports around the state. Many athletes went to check out a game and see if they were gonna be the next one to try it out! See photos on Facebook.
HEY! Ricky on our golf team may be bald soon…he bet his competition yesterday that if he lost the gold medal, he would shave. He won the silver medal. Looks like a shaver is in his future!
Watch for tomorrow night’s closing ceremony photos as bowling coach Kevin Szydel and athletes Lynn Carus, Cindy Bentley and Mike Thompson will represent Team Wisconsin in the parade!
Here is my sport rundown following our coaches meeting tonight:
Basketball: Team Wisconsin unfortunately lost in their THIRD GAME against Missouri 35-21, whom they had beaten twice before this week. The exciting part of the game though was Louis “Butch” Riley, the “elder” player at 65 yrs old, went in for the last minute and a half of the game and snagged a shot in after a rebound…his first score at national games!
Track and field:
Ashlynn grabbed a bronze medal in the long jump and the 100m; Tom won a bronze in the shot-put, a gold in the long jump and a bronze in the 100m; Brandan took a silver in the shot-put, a bronze in the 800m and a silver in the 1500m; Cory took a gold in the pentathlon; Cindy took a silver in the long jump and a silver in the 100m; Zach took a 5th in the shot-put and a bronze in the 1500m; Nicole took a silver in the 100m; Crystalynn won a gold in the 100m; and lastly, the girls 4x100 won the gold while the boys 4x400 took the silver! Pretty good in the 108 degree heat index!
Tennis: The girls played singles at 8 am and Emily and Kamala both won a 4th place ribbon in singles, while Michelle took a bronze medal and Cindy won a silver medal. In doubles, Emily and Kamala took the 4th place ribbon, and Michelle and Cindy took the silver!
Powerlifting: Thank God these guys have muscles since they are leaving Nebraska with 12 heavy medals to carry! These guys did 27 lifts in a matter of two days and 26 of them were good lifts (only one didn’t qualify). Matt Manderfield walked away with a gold medal in the squat and three bronze medals in the dead lift, bench press and triple combo, while Brian Schuster won silver for the dead lift and trip combo and bronze medals for the squat and bench press. Jeff Batz competed in the afternoon and also carries four medals on his neck with three golds in the triple combo, squat, and dead lift and a silver in the bench! See photos on Facebook!
Swimming: The four ladies swam their 4x100 relay this morning and were expected to take the gold…AND THEY DID! In the afternoon, Jessica swam the 400 freestyle final and also won gold. Ann and Chris swam the 100 individual medley final and won the gold and silver respectively. Lastly, Chris and Jessica swam the 100 breaststroke final and Chris sports a gold medal, with Jessica proudly wearing a silver!
Gymnastics had the day off as they prepare for their exhibition performance tomorrow!
Golf was finished yesterday so they spent the day at the zoo and shopping (and preparing to shave Ricky’s head!)
Bowling: Our two teams of four both grabbed 4th place in team competition today! See photos on facebook.
Soccer: Team Wisconsin played at 10 am and unbelievably lost to Team Pennsylvania after TWO 5-minute overtime periods with no scores made, leading them to 11 penalty kicks before Pennsylvania scored 4 and we only made three. The final score was 1-1 as a tie game, but Penn State’s one extra penalty kick gave them the gold.
Bocce: Andrew and Hundt as well as Sara and Julie both won a silver medal in doubles, while Rebecca and Sheila took a 5th place ribbon!
Tomorrow, Team Wisconsin only has one swimmer, Ann, competing, followed by soccer getting their silver medal in the awards ceremony, and lastly, Team Wisconsin’s basketball team playing for the bronze medal! Good luck to the final athletes competing!
Kelly Kloepping
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Special Olympics Wisconsin
Mosquitoes and flies bit a hard fight today with the delegation, but reporters in Lincoln are catching wind of the unbelievable competition coming from Wisconsin as not only did Butch Riley get interviewed before basketball competition, but Elisabeth Andersen also visited with Lincoln’s local newspaper earlier today and she made headlines on the nightly news this evening with her four gold medals! Soccer was also interviewed by local Lincoln news!
We were excited to hold our Wisconsin Families Reception tonight at the Holy Trinity Church and its 15 volunteers as more than 250 families and friends attended the evening to join Team Wisconsin’s 62 athletes and 25 coaches and staff members. Photos are on the Facebook page as families enjoyed lots of yummy treats and were able to visit with other team members and exchange stories of their week Nebraska.
The Youth Activation Summit continues in full swing as participants, including several from Wisconsin, with and without intellectual disabilities are working together and learning how to become agents of change in their schools and communities. Presenters led an engaging session on creating and maintaining school clubs as some youth came up with clubs such as "Explore the Outdoors," where youth with and without intellectual disabilities will have the opportunity to camp and engage in other activities outdoors together in order to unify all people.
On Tuesday, the youth traveled to Lincoln with participants of the National Education Conference (NEC) to be fans in the stands at several competition events including bocce, volleyball, track and field, soccer and gymnastics. Many of the youth also participated in the flag football demonstration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Back to sports….Please check the Special Olympics Wisconsin website link to Nebraska results for ALL results of sports each day. Below are “behind-the-scene” daily updates from each coach at our nightly meeting after my day of traveling to basketball, soccer, tennis and golf!
I started out at golf, where bug spray was being applied like cologne! It had rained during the night, but turned into a hot and muggy morning, though Bill and Terry STILL took the gold medal, while Rick took the silver and David (Owen) took the bronze! Rick admitted he didn’t wanna know what place he got until the very minute they placed him in the awards area!
Next I hit soccer which was a very exciting day for our team! Wisconsin played Massachusetts for the last pool play game before being placed in medal rounds. The exciting news is that Massachusetts has NEVER HAD A GOAL SCORED AGAINST THEM this year and they have a player on their team who played in the World Cup for a Special Olympics team, and we won 1-0! Even more interesting, we played them again as the 4th seed and they were the #1 seed. Team Wisconsin WON AGAIN, in a super close game thanks to penalty kicks with a final score of 3-2. We play Pennsylvania tomorrow at 10 am. An interesting story came out of today’s super close games…one of Massachusetts’s players played an aggressive trip during the first game and came over to our team after to apologize, leading to the them trading hats with each other (a popular thing athletes do outside of competition). At the second game, this same athlete from Massachusetts had a very hard time dealing with their second loss and our guys went back to him and embraced. Again, a true symbol of what Special Olympics is all about….
My next sport venue was tennis, where mosquitoes turned into flies, but thank God it was fun to watch all four ladies compete in their doubles competitions. Award ceremonies will be tomorrow as the women still have to play the other teams in their divisions to determine final results, but stay tuned!
Lastly, I was able to watch basketball where Team Wisconsin won against Missouri 35-27, meaning they now have to play Missouri AGAIN for the third time this trip for a medal! Good luck at 11 am tomorrow guys! There is quite a cheerleading section for these games (see photos on Facebook) so it’s gonna be loud!
In other sports:
Bocce: Awards will be given tomorrow, but coach Brothen anticipates some great outcomes! In a daily newsletter the bocce venue hands to all teams, Team Wisconsin made the news as it stated “Team WI is the “comeback team” coming from far behind BOTH of their games to win, but also thanking Team Pennsylvania for their great sportsmanship and competitive spirit!
Gymnastics: With glitter everywhere, our gymnasts had a sparkly day as Eresi took the gold in the hoop, ball, clubs and the all-around, and a silver in the ribbon competition. Elisabeth took the gold in the hoop, ball, ribbon and all-around, and a silver in the rope competition. Mary took three silver medals in the ball, ribbon and all-around, followed by two bronze medals in the ball and the all-around. Lastly, our birthday girl Nadine grabbed three silvers in the ball, ribbon and all-around, and two bronze medals in the rope and hoop! Way to go girls!!!! They will have an exhibition on Friday morning of ALL the gymnasts from all states performing with some local gymnasts for quite a show!
Swimming: Ann raced her 200 backstroke preliminary today, and hits finals tomorrow. In the afternoon, Rebecca raced her 100 freestyle race, grabbing a 4th place ribbon, but beat her personal best time by four seconds. She then turned around and swam the 100 backstroke, reaching her NEW personal best and winning the gold! Lastly, the four ladies swam the medley relay final and easily won the gold, but humbly stood on the side of the pool and cheered on the other teams as they finished the race! Great job ladies!
Power lifting: These guys finally started competition, but only one was on the schedule for today as Steve McCain walked away with a gold in the bench press, a silver in the triple combo, a silver in the squat and a 4th in the dead lift. The others compete tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Bowling: In doubles today, Don and Tom got a 4th, Jodi and Sherri earned a silver medal, Joe and Joe are now wearing a gold medal and Lynn and Marie also have a gold! Tomorrow is team competition!
Track and Field: Cory is still finishing up his pentathlon competition, but our three shotput girls--Nicole, Cindy, and Crystalynn--ALL earned gold! Zach grabbed a silver in the 400, while Ashlynn and Crystalynn won the silver in the 200. Lastly, Nicole earned a 4th place ribbon in the Javelin. Excitingly, all the athletes neared their personal bests or beat them!
Keep checking http://www.SpecialOlympicsWisconsin.org and click on results for all the official times and places as well as photos matching all the information above!
Kelly Kloepping
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Special Olympics Wisconsin
Today was a weird day for weather…raining for 20 minutes, then hot and humid in the sun for one hour, then cloudy and breezy for one hour. Makes for a great hair do J. Photos are posted on Special Olympics Wisconsin’s Facebook page for the entire day, so become a fan and take a look at them!
On a more serious note, today, July 20, 2010 marks 42 years of sports, joy, and human transformation around the globe. See a message from Special Olympics Inc. Chairman Timothy Shriver:"As I spend today at the USA National Games, I’ve gone from venue to venue meeting athletes like Kolan McConiughey from Michigan who bowled seven 300 games, like Nicholas Van Denburgh from Minnesota who ran the 100 meter under 11 seconds, like Katlin Slough from Indiana who knocked 25 seconds off her personal best time in mile run. These men and women, and all our athletes around the world, are the fruits of 42 years together. Their excellence is a reflection of your perseverance, their achievements the outcome of your determination, their happiness the product of your relentless passion for the human spirit. No matter how long you’ve been with Special Olympics, today is your celebration too. From all of us, I send you my thanks.I also had a moment today at the track & field venue when I closed my eyes and imagined Chicago 1968. I imaged all the people who didn’t’ come, who didn’t’ believe, who didn’t understand. I imaged all the struggle for those who did show up, to those who did took a chance on a vision. They had precious little in the way of support, but they had gained riches in the way of the spirit. We stand on the shoulders of those giants of 1968 and of all those who followed them from village to village, country to country, fueled by the spirit of never accepting anyone’s limitations. Finally, it is that spirit that makes me so confident about our future. Our young leaders – both those with and without different abilities – our coaches, our volunteers, our athletes, all are ready for the challenge of the next decade. The obstacles remain of course. But the world is hungry for a movement of health, of acceptance, of joy. We’ll meet the challenge by focusing on sports excellence, by having the highest expectations imaginable of our athletes and of our communities by working even harder than we have worked already. But the real secret to our future success is that same spirit of 1968, that same restless and rebellious dissatisfaction with the status quo, and that same joyful energy to change it. I thank each of you for being such wonderful representatives of our great movement every day.” –Timothy Shriver
Happy Birthday Special Olympics! Note: Team Wisconsin’s Coach Mary Fiegel and tennis athlete Cindy Bentley both were at the July 20, 1968 event with Eunice Kennedy Shriver!
Louis “Butch” Riley doesn’t look like he’ll be 66 in just a few weeks, playing alongside 18-year-old teammate Rickie Kelly on Wisconsin’s basketball team at the U.S. Special Olympics National Games. He also doesn’t look like he was a tackle football player or a wrestler in junior high school. Or that he comes from a family where his mom played basketball and father played football, basketball and baseball back when they were in school. His uncle even played football for the Indianapolis Colts almost 50 years ago (Harry Riley) so sports are in his blood—pretty much full time!
Riley’s life hasn’t really changed on the sports front as he remains active, training and competing with Special Olympics for almost 10 years in basketball, baseball, swimming and volleyball. His spark for football in the family still remains lit though as he really looks forward to Wisconsin starting up flag football…all from a gentleman who was born almost 66 years ago, but almost didn’t’ make it.
“He was a blue baby,” said Riley’s sister Ginger Ertle. “Our mom looked over at the table after birth and realized doctor’s hadn’t noticed that Butch was blue in the face and wasn’t receiving any oxygen.” This led to brain damage, leaving Riley with a learning disability.
Ertle added that Riley’s life was a challenge in school since a teacher tried to help him learn, but was forced to leave him alone or she would lose her job. Butch didn’t attend high school and never learned to read. He moved to Wisconsin in the mid 1970’s from Indiana and worked in a number of sheltered workshops. This led Riley to Shepherd’s Ministries in Union Grove, WI where he resides with two other roommates, working part time doing janitorial services and greenhouse work on the side.
Friends and coworkers at Shepherds traveled in a pack of 30 people to come cheer him on in Nebraska at the National Games. Though his parents passed away in the early 90’s, his sister also made the trip to Nebraska to watch Riley compete with Team Wisconsin’s basketball team.
“Butch won’t let young guys do anything he can’t do,” she remarked. “He even dyes his hair to keep up with the young!” she said giggling. “He lives life to its fullest!” In fact, Riley has even traveled with his Shepherd’s bell choir with the bass bell for nearly 10 years, meeting many celebrities and taking part in TV appearances!
Riley also already made it to the U.S. National Games in 2006 in Iowa with Special Olympics Team Wisconsin’s softball team, and now is in Nebraska for the 2010 Games in Nebraska with the basketball team.
“I enjoy Spec ial Olympics since I meet so many new people and love getting to know new people from other states,” says Riley. “I wanna compete until I can’t walk and then I will coach.”
When asked what advice he would give the younger athletes on Team Wisconsin’s delegation, he said “Don’t rush life cause life goes to fast. The younger guys on the team…they sometimes say they wanna be my age, but I just laugh.” Riley plans on training with Special Olympics until he can’t walk anymore, but then says he’ll coach. It’s always about sports!
"How are the kids?" "When is the track and field meet this year?" So many individuals mistake Special Olympics as an organization for children that allows them to take part in running competitions. But it’s so much more than that for 24-year-old athlete Brandan Drinkman of Eau Claire who has been training for this trip since age 16. He lives on his own in a new two-bedroom apartment and is absolutely ecstatic to be on his first trip ever to a Special Olympics competition outside of Wisconsin.
This trip means something a little different for Drinkman as he received a phone call on his trip home from the State Summer Games to find out his grandmother had passed away. "She helped raise me growing up," he said, "and she was so excited for my trip to Nebraska. I won’t let her down as this week is for her."
Drinkman’s energy for life goes beyond sports and his trip to Nationals. Not only does he live on his own, but he works long shifts as a cart runner at Festival Foods and is going on his fourth year of "training." Drinkman says the job really plays a role in his training as the hot summer days and the thousands of steps taken running carts back and forth quickly from the parking lot to the store can only help in his preparation for the National Games. "It’s more work than people think, especially in the summer months."
Drinkman says it’s obvious that Special Olympics has opened so many new doors for him, but admits that he can’t be happier to be able to compete in so many sports that he couldn’t have the opportunity for otherwise in high school or in the community. "Running track is by far my favorite sport," he says, adding that the 3k and 1500m are much preferred over short distance running or his other sports of snowshoe racing, volleyball or basketball. "I have Monday and Wednesday track practices each week but also run with friends outside of Special Olympics to keep in shape. "
If there’s one thing Brandan has learned in Special Olympics, it’s to listen intently to the coaches as he remarked that a recent divorce with his wife was lesson enough that sometimes others can see what you need to work on more than you can.
"My coaches have really built us up for this trip and claim that we are doing well breaking down the space between the our time and the record we are trying to break."
As much as Special Olympics strives to follow the athlete oath, ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt’, Coach John Hough works overtime to teach the athletes that very message to strive for improvement.
"With the relay team, it’s been neat because we have five leaders from their own local track teams from around the state. They have been to our training camp and other events, and they have just bonded…always high giving, congratulating each other, etc." Hough added that he thinks they could be one of the top relays in the country. "They gel as a team on and off the track. They have traveled above and beyond what we have asked them to do and Brandan has taken this experience very seriously, always asking what he can do to make himself better. "He trains often on his own and realizes this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as all the runners have dropped ½ second or second off their times."
Drinkman hopes to one day travel with Wisconsin to a World Games, especially since he’s very confident that his relay team has a fantastic change to shine at Nationals. "I’m not worried about Nebraska’s heat, as my cart running at Festival Foods puts me in the heat everyday at work. I just know we have practiced long and hard and coach says we are ready."
"If they make cart running a sport, I can’t bring home anything but the gold medal. We’ll see what happens for my track events. I’m just glad to be traveling with the team!" Words wells spoken from an athlete who was just named the 2010 Athlete of the Year for his Area!
It was another warm day in Lincoln, but we had a breeze today, so the lower 90’s didn’t seem too unbearable. It’s showing upper 80’s and close to 90 for every day this week, but showers may sneak in here and there.
Students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications are documenting the Games with video, photo and story coverage about athletes and events throughout the week of the Games. Wisconsinites can be seen in various shots each day if you visit 2010SpecialOlympics.org and click on videos/photos in the upper right corner! Or check out the photos on Facebook or visit SpecialOlympicsWisconsin.org to see the great things mentioned in this journal!
To kick off today’s journal entry, I am excited to share that the Business Editor of the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper, Richard L. Piersol, borrowed quotes from one of our Wisconsin athletes, Christine Cherne, who was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel what we he claimed were "inspiring words to share with the city of Lincoln." She said, "When I joined (Special Olympics), I was an immature girl who cried all the time, was shy and afraid of everyone, had no friends, except for my family, and no interest in any sport," said 36-year-old swimmer Christine Cherne of Brown Deer, Wis. "Now, I can proudly say I have participated in soccer, learned how to sail a 24-foot sailboat ... and became good friends with many athletes - not only during the season of the sport, but forever."
We were able to see Brooklyn Decker in the meal hall (see photos) as she visited with athletes, wishing them good luck. Decker, who served as emcee in yesterday’s opening ceremony, is a past Sports Illustrated and Victoria Secret model and actress in the upcoming Adam Sandler move "Just Go With It."
Also at dinner I witnessed one of our athletes, bowler Jodie Zimmerman, trading one of her trading cards (each athlete has their own set of trading cards with their photo on them) for a t-shirt from another state’s athlete. WOW! She made out on that trade!
Today was packed with sports venue visits, beginning with aquatics, where we witnessed Rebecca Stelpflug, one of our youngest athletes on Team Wisconsin at age 18, swim her divisioning races for the 100 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke, followed by the four female athletes in their 4x50 relay, where they easily pulled ahead of Michigan and Massachussetts, the only other two women’s relay teams in the United States…the ladies relay peeled away 14 seconds off their personal best time!
My next stop was bowling, where all eight bowlers hit the alleys for divisioning games. It was a hoot to watch the athletes dancing on the alleys to ACDC and other "pumped up" music as they took practice throws before divisioning started. Some athletes would have preferred to leave the music on during the games! Interestingly, for you bowling enthusiasts, Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln allows you to visit their Website, sunvalleylanes.com, and actually view REAL TIME scores as the athletes bowl EACH frame. It’s instant scoring seen on your screen if you wanna follow Team Wisconsin!
Two last pieces of bowling news—head coach Lori Brandau may be engaged to be married this October, but she found new love as Michael Sarver, American Idol’s top 10 singer in season 8, visited with bowlers, wishing them luck for upcoming competition. Also, hats off to Special Olympics staff member Melissa Erdmann for being so kind to do laundry for the tennis and bowling team, and turning the tennis player’s white skirts to a beautiful pink color (guess the bowler’s red shirts held revenge?) All is well as bleached water for one hour brought back our white skirts for the tennis team to give their 100% today as they divisioned.
I ventured on to gymnastics where three of the four ladies, Elisabeth Anderson, Mary Grover and Nadine McKee, glittered in their red uniforms holding tightly to their ribbons, hoops and balls as they danced their hearts off in front of the U.S. National Games judges. Today was level 1 divisioning so tomorrow you will see final results from these three as they go for the gold! Good luck to the fourth gymnast, Eresi Yarney, as she starts level 2 divisioning tomorrow.
Lastly, bocce was an exciting afternoon as four of our players, Edward Berezinski, Sara Schumacher, James Hundt, and Sheila Kates, came back from a nine-point deficit to win their first game against Pennsylvania 16-13, then turning around in another game with Pennsylvania and winning 16-15 to take TEAM WISCONSIN’S FIRST MEDAL AND FIRST GOLD MEDAL OF THE TRIP TO NEBRASKA!
Other sports news for Team Wisconsin is as follows:
Golf: Preliminaries were held today, but David Mahan competed in his FIRST GAME OF GOLF outside of Wisconsin and his first game his parents had ever attended, and was able to make a 35-foot putt!
Tennis: Preliminaries were held today with the four ladies.
Soccer: Team Wisconsin played an eight-minute preliminary game against Massachussetts, more to show off their skills as teams get divisioned for the remainder of the week.
Track and Field: Our eight athletes took part in preliminary competitions in the shot put, the pentathlon, the javelin, the long jump, the 200m race and the 400m race. Coaches remarked they all closely reached their personal best!
Powerlifting: These guys have it made as competition doesn’t start for them until Wednesday, so they spent today shopping, in museums and dancing (with a small side of practicing!)
I want to leave you with news from our basketball team who played at 10am today winning 37-34 against Missouri in a tight, well-played game, but it wasn’t over yet. At 3:30, New Jersey was next for the pool play. Free throw percentages were low but it was a back and forth game, turning into an overtime game with an extra four-minute overtime period. Everyone was watching this game, from volunteers of the event, to coaches and teams from other states, to families from all over the U.S. Team WI fell short 42-38, but played a great game according to coaches. What is the lesson learned? Team Wisconsin was put on the same bus as Team New Jersey to leave the venue this evening. Wisconsin gave them a great round of applause as they boarded the bus with high fives, joking around with their competitors the entire bus ride back. That is what Special Olympics is all about.
Kelly Kloepping
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Special Olympics Wisconsin
The basketball team spent their first day at Lincoln's Southeast High School playing two six-minute games as the national games management team reviewed each of the 24 teams' ability levels. Wisconsin was matched up with Maryland for the first game, in which we outscored them substantially (they didn't keep score, but our shots were going in left and right). The second game was against New Jersey, again showing Wisconsin most likely in a higher division. Monday, the divisions will begin to unveil as Wisconsin may move around a bit until they make it to a medal round.
The soccer team held a practice scrimmage against Team South Dakota at Abbots Sports Complex and our athletes looked pretty talented making the first four goals of the game! Also at Abbots Complex was our four tennis athletes. Upon arriving, I found myself standing with a few feet of the tennis great Andy Roddick, ranked #1 in the U.S. and 7th in world. Andy put his arms around our athletes Cindy Bentley and Kamala Gesteland before spending an hour working with all the states'' tennis players on skills and techniques.
We had a bit of a break to cool off and clean up before it was time to dress in the ceremony attire and make the 10 minute walk over to the Devaney Sports Complex for the 3:00 pm opening ceremony. Wisconsin headed to line up around 2 pm and spent around a ½ hour in the heat, then finally moved indoors where the 47 states were assembled and escorted into the approximately 10,000-person filled arena. A welcome message was delivered by Special Olympics Inc. CEO Brady Lum and Nebraska Special Olympics CEO Charles Cooper. The Governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman also offered a wonderful thank-you speech to Nebraska's population that came in droves to help support and volunteer this National Games event.
Athletes and coaches raised their arms when golf professional Phil Mickelson delivered a message on the jumbotron giving athletes a "high-five" pep talk before competition. Brooklyn Decker, model and actress in the upcoming Adam Sandler move "Just Go With It" served as emcee with Special Olympics athlete Eddie Barbanell, also an actor in the 2005 movie "The Ringer" starring alongside Johnny Knoxville.
Music added a very touching element to the ceremonies as not only did rock Christian group "Jars of Clay" rock the stadium for athletes to dance in their seats, but American Idol 8th season top 10-finalist Michael Sarver performed several songs, including a song specially written for the ceremony, honoring Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the opening of the 2010 Games. His first album releases this summer!
Lastly, singer and songwriter Sandi Patti, who has recorded 30 albums and won five Grammy's and four Billboard Music Awards, sang a dedication to Eunice Kennedy Shriver just a year from her death as the Special Olympics flag rose high above the stage for all to see.
The highlight of the ceremony was the more than 50 law enforcement from all over the nation who converged in full uniform saluting the torch as it was run into the stadium, lighting the beautiful two-story tall, brushed stainless steel cauldron. Tears wet the corners of many eyes in the stadium as we left the ceremony around 5:30 pm to grab dinner and settle in for the night before competition hits hard for the next five days. Good luck Team Wisconsin! We should all be getting more sleep tonight .
Kelly Kloepping
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Special Olympics Wisconsin
Special Olympics Wisconsin (SOWI) is a statewide organization providing persons with cognitive disabilities year-round sports training and competition. Individuals who are at least eight years old and are identified as having a cognitive disability are eligible for participation.
With seven Area offices throughout the state, Special Olympics Wisconsin serves nearly 10,000 athletes in nearly 189 communities statewide. SOWI is one of the 50 state programs and one of nearly 200 countries providing this opportunity to more than one million athletes worldwide.
For more information, visit http://www.specialolympicswisconsin.org
