Special Olympics Coming To Commack

By Joe Flynn

The Spring Games event of the Long Island Special Olympics is coming to Commack on April 21^st, 2013. Commack resident Debbie Virga has taken it into her own hands to coordinate this event with the Special Olympics staff, which will bring in disabled athletes from all across Long Island and possibly the Hudson Valley region. There are expected to be as many as 700 or 800 participants at this event, as well as up to 1000 volunteers from the community. The Commack School District’s Special Education Parent-Teacher Association (SEPTA) is taking the lead with Debbie in organizing the event.

The Special Olympics is an international organization designed to bring the experience of a competitive, athletic accomplishment to those with mental handicaps of any kind. It is frequently confused with the Paralympics, a similar organization whose athletes are physically handicapped. Another common misconception is that each Special Olympics event is wide-scale, selective, and infrequent, like the International Olympics, when in fact Special Olympics events occur by demand. When an enthusiastic place like Commack can be found to host a Special Olympics event, the organization works with the community to create an event. It can happen on any day of the year.

The games themselves are taken very seriously. Each athlete is registered several months in advance. If he or she is a student, as many of the competitors are, the Special Olympics works with Physical Education teachers to work a training schedule into the curriculum. The participant is then fully prepared to compete on the day of the actual event. Trainers, coaches and teachers are able to evaluate the participant’s ability, so that in a race, for example, the fastest athletes are placed with each other, but special accommodations are avoided if possible. The Special Olympics are designed to be real, professional competitions, with Section 11 officials ensuring that all typical standards are followed. This way, the participants know that they are getting the real experience. In the games, removing the handicap is empowering.

On the other hand, the Special Olympics are also designed to empower the community that hosts them. “It’s all about education and changing perceptions,” says coordinator Tim Flynn. “Many people might be sympathetic to mental disabilities, but they don’t know how to go up and talk to a disabled person. They just don’t know what to say. And of course people are forgetting how to talk to each other at all any more, now that we can just text and use the computer. But in this event the volunteers work side by side with the athletes, and they learn from each other.”

Commack is already beginning to show some enthusiasm for the project, but since most of the volunteering is expected to come from students, most of the organization and advertisement will wait until school is back in session. Geico and Huntington Honda are among the companies that have already agreed to sponsor the event. SEPTA and the Special Olympics representatives expect about 10% of the local students to get involved. In addition to the track, field events, and tennis that will be the competitions for this spring, there will also be awards ceremonies and an Olympic Village-style campus to facilitate the athletes as well as their friends and families. All community donations and support for this undertaking will be appreciated by those who get a unique chance to shine.