Athletes with intellectual disabilities grow through competition and companionship
Delaney Hall was thrilled when she was chosen, for the first time, to carry the torch at the 2015 Florida Special Olympics Summer Games.
“I felt excited,” she said. “I’m actually an athlete leader, so that’s how I carried the torch. They only pick athlete leaders for that.”
Hall was awarded the gold medal in bocce, a sport she started playing in the ninth grade. She has also won medals in basketball and bowling.
“I did bowling in 10th grade and basketball when I was in 11th grade,” Hall said. “So when I was in 12th grade, I competed in all three of them.”
Her hard work paid off.
The 20-year-old USF St. Petersburg student lives with intellectual disability, and in 2014, she was accepted to STING RAY. According to the USFSP website, the program “helps students with cognitive and intellectual disabilities gain independence, find employment and establish positive social and work relationships.”
“When Delaney is excited and proud, her voice gets soft,” said STING RAY curriculum coordinator Annie Johnson. “She speaks very slowly with exact enunciation, and states how “wonderful” she felt to be chosen to carry the torch for the Special Olympics!”
Hall describes the Special Olympics as “mostly about having fun and competing.” For her, the most rewarding part is making new friends.
David Haines, director of Special Olympics Florida-Pinellas County, echoes her sentiment by emphasizing the opportunity to display fitness, social skills and competitive abilities that participants are given.
“I think Special Olympics is important to these participants because it gives them an opportunity to demonstrate capabilities above the intellectual,” Haines said. “I also think Special Olympics is valuable to the general public is raising awareness of what our athletes can do. They learn discipline, rules and sportsmanship. And, the building of friendships with other Special Olympics athletes is an extremely important and valuable part of the program.”
The first International Special Olympics Summer Games was held on July 20, 1968, in Chicago. It all began when Eunice Kennedy Shriver saw the widespread mistreatment of those living in the United States with intellectual disabilities. She hoped to change this, in part, by showing just how much these members of society were capable of.
Although each U.S. state has its own program, Special Olympics is a worldwide organization that is present in over 170 countries. Special Olympics Florida–Pinellas County is one of 57 counties in the state with an active program. According to Haines, athletes must either have an intellectual disability or a closely-related developmental disability.
The competition is comprised of eight different seasons, each with its own state competition. There are over 30,000 athletes who compete in Special Olympics Florida – over 800 in Pinellas County alone.
Hall traveled to Lake Buena Vista to take part in the Special Olympics Fall State Classic event on Nov. 13 and 14.
Instead of competing in the event, she went as a volunteer, but was just as excited.
“She (Delaney) is one of our Athlete Leaders, which means she is going through a process of learning to advocate for the athletes, offer advice to the local and State programs, plus help with fundraising and other program-related activities,” Haines said.
Delaney has gained a lot of pride in herself being involved in aspects of Special Olympics beyond competition. She is learning to be more comfortable addressing large groups on behalf of Special Olympics, and I am confident she will become a solid advocate for the program.”
Hall is not alone in feeling proud of her accomplishments. For the last 47 years, Special Olympics have highlighted participants’ abilities, rather than focusing on disabilities.
“A simple sense of pride in a job well done is perhaps the most important piece of the whole Special Olympics experience,” Haines said.
“The joy they spread at any level is infectious.”
