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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsLocal newsSunny Skies, Warm Hearts at Special Olympics 2018

Sunny Skies, Warm Hearts at Special Olympics 2018

Athletes with Janice Lee, who has organized Special Olympics events in the V.I. since 1977.
Athletes with Janice Lee, who has organized Special Olympics events in the V.I. since 1977.

High clouds and sunny skies greeted a small parade of eager student athletes Saturday at Renaissance Park on St. Croix, scene of the 2018 Virgin Islands Special Olympics.

Parents and others who care for special needs students said competitors look forward to the event, in which they run, jump, and participate in other athletic activites with energy and enthusiasm.

The games were first held in the V.I. in 1977, organized with help from Janice Lee. This year, Lee returned to her home on St. Croix to find it destroyed by Hurricane Maria.

That didn’t slow her down. Lee said she moved into a borrowed space and began rounding up volunteers and athletes.

“They’re from all the schools on the island,” said Lee. “We get the registration forms out each March. It’s for students with IEPs — individual educational programs. They have intellectual disabilities or cognitive delays.”

Because of the late start of the school year, and with classes being held on double session, it was extra challenging to get Special Olympics paperwork out, completed and returned this year, she said.

After a few organizing hurdles were cleared, another appeared Saturday morning. Assessors assigned to review storm damage at Lee’s home called and said they were on the way.

No, she told them. Not today. Call back next week.

Approximately three dozen made it to the Special Olympics Saturday. Members of the St. Croix Central High School Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps and the school’s marching band led a parade of athletes across the field to start the games.

Athletes and volunteers at the Special Olympics.

Volunteer Terry Applewhite ticked off a list of the events of the day — standing long jump, tennis, basketball, softball, track and field. He walked with a clipboard listing events and participants under his arm.

The number of participants is not what it was years ago, Applewhite said. In some events the list of competitors has dwindled to two.

For Lee, the number of participants didn’t matter, although she said she’d like to see greater community support.

“We need more people to get excited about Special Olympics,” she said.

One person who didn’t need to be told to get excited was Edward Saldana Jr., age 12. When his turn at the long jump came up, he sprung up into the air and landed solidly in the dirt. Volunteers whipped out the measuring tape and others scribbled down the results.

Saldana’s mother, Vanesa Garcia, said her son has enjoyed events like the jump, the softball throw and the 100 meter dash for the past five years.

“Every year,” she said. “And sometimes they take trips to St. Thomas to do Special Olympics over there and he loves that too.”

Leon Van Beverhoudt from Ginger Thomas Residence was equally enthused. He sat near a table, showing off two medals he won while others in his group enjoyed a cheeseburger lunch at a table a few feet away.

“I love running,” he said with a smile. Of the 11 residents who came for the games, three came to compete, said Simira Cruz, Ginger Thomas’s assistant director.

“They come every year. They wish for it every year,” Cruz said.

Lee thanked executives at Renaissance for sending workers to cut grass on the field and clear away rocks. She also thanked the Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation for marking the track for the races and getting the facilities in shape in time for the games.

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