Nearly 400 athletes and their partners from across New Jersey are competing in the New Jersey Winter Special Olympics this week. The contests in alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and speed skating are taking place over two days at Mountain Creek Resort and National Winter Activity Center in Vernon, and Skylands Ice World in Stockholm.
“We’re super excited to be here!” said Union City teacher Kristen Sosa, a volunteer at the Winter Games at Mountain Creek Resort.
Sosa helped Union City fourth-grader Jake Karim train, one of about 90 athletes with intellectual disabilities competing on the slopes in Vernon. Thirty-eight students from Union City also participated.
“It has been an amazing experience,” Sosa said. “[Karim] went from day one and two of practice with him barely being able to get his boots on to him taking this hill pretty much like a pro.”
Lighting the torch kicked off this year’s Winter Games in venues across Sussex County. Officials said it’s about more than just the races.
“It allows our athletes — whether you’re eight years old or 55 years old — to accomplish life through the success of sports and working on abilities,” said Heather Andersen, the Special Olympics’ president and CEO.. “And it’s a very positive experience for them. They’re competitors. They want to win.”
Families often attend and volunteer. Steve and Lee-Ellen Pisauro of Layton brought their son Sam, who has Down syndrome, to compete and socialize. Sam won a medal.
“We do it ’cause it’s fun for Sam,” his father said. “And we enjoy it. We’ve been skiing our whole lives. He can communicate with other kids his own age, and his own disabilities and it’s great!”
Back in 1969 when the Special Olympics first began, New Jersey sent just a handful of athletes to the Eastern Regional Special Olympics in Maryland, and they had very little in the way of training or equipment. The opportunities have expanded since then.
“It’s just flourished and grown over the years — through the kindness of volunteers, coaches, sponsors, law enforcement — and today we’re celebrating the success of 55 years in the making,” Andersen says. “It’s the success of our athletes and what they show, what they can accomplish and focus on ability, and not disability.
The organization operates year-round, with more than 20,000 athletes competing in every season and funded by an $11 million budget, all of it donated. Those competing are awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals — and participation medals to make sure everyone’s included.
Karim, the Union City fourth grader, won a gold and a bronze medal in Vernon this week, but he said that’s not the most important reason he competes. He said he does it because it’s fun.
