Acceptance and Inclusion: The Power of Special Olympics
Photo Credits: Tulsa World
By: Emma Travers
The Olympics, the World renowned international sporting event featuring athletes from hundreds of countries. It would be safe to say that everyone has heard of the Olympics and has watched at least one event in their lifetime. But did you know there is also an Olympic competition for those with intellectual and physical disabilities?
The first ever Special Olympic Games were launched in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a longtime advocate for people with intellectual disabilities. Shriver aimed to embrace her athletes abilities, not focus on their disabilities. Knowing that those who had an intellectual or physical disability were part of a neglected group, she wanted to give them the same opportunity as any other athlete. Now 56 years later, the Special Olympics has grown to over 5.5 million athletes and 1.1 million coaches and volunteers.
The Special Olympics has since made its way to Jenks, Oklahoma and is now a huge deal at Jenks Public Schools. There are multiple sports in the program but Jenks has only adopted a few of them. Bocce ball, swimming, bowling, soccer, basketball, track and field, softball, weightlifting, horseshoes, and cornhole are all sports the Jenks Special Olympics team competes in.
Bradlee Pilling, the Special Education teacher at Jenks West Elementary, helped coach the Special Olympics for 8 years. In her days of coaching she has helped out with all of the events the team competes in, but her favorite sport to coach was bowling.
“It’s really impressive,” said Pilling, noting the fact that even though these students have disabilities, they can still compete successfully in these well known sports.
Multiple Jenks sports teams even help out with the Special Olympics and host fun events for the athletes. Notable events include Buddy Baseball, a dinner hosted by the football team as well as a football clinic, a soccer tournament, and a superstar swim meet.
Pilling thinks it's amazing that so many high school students and student athletes give some of their time to volunteer with the Special Olympics.
Free time for high school students isn’t something that's easy to come by, and Pilling knows that. This is why she is very appreciative of the students who give their time for the Special Olympics because she knows just how much the athletes enjoy having them there. Whether it's 30 minutes a week or 3 hours, any and all help is always appreciated by the coaches.
Gannon Beberstein, a recent 2024 Jenks graduate, helped out in the Special Olympics his junior year of high school and was moved by the entire program.
“It’s such a loving environment,” said Beberstein referring to the pure joy that spews from all angles of the team.
Beberstein found his place in the Special Olympics through Project Unify, which is a club at Jenks that involves both the students and the athletes. Each athlete receives a buddy that goes to all of the practices and competitions with them.
Whether it’s an athlete who just won their first gold medal, a student volunteer who is amazed by the talent of these athletes, or a parent who never thought their child would get an opportunity to compete, there are smiles and cheers from every corner of every competition.
These athletes are just as competitive as anyone else, but even if they don’t win they still erupt with happiness for their teammates and athletes on the other teams.
“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt,” is the Special Olympics athlete oath.
These words shine light on the importance of effort and deeply resonate with the athletes to help them remember that even if they don’t win, they should be trying for their own personal best.
“The sports were fun but not the focus,” said Beberstein regarding the fact that the real importance of the games is to develop a sense of self accomplishment within the athletes and create friendships that can last a lifetime.
The Special Olympics is such a fantastic program that gives so many youth and young adults a wonderful opportunity.
“I genuinely think everyone should get to go to one event in their lifetime,” said Pilling to simply encourage the population at large to attend a Special Olympic event because it will truly change your perspective on life.
Visit https://www.specialolympics.org/ to learn more about the Special Olympics as a whole. If you want to know more about the program we have formed at Jenks, you can find out information on the Jenks Special Education and Jenks Project Unify Instagram pages. From there you can find out the upcoming events to go watch and some events looking for volunteers.
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