The lanes were packed and the stakes were high. The state tournament was on the line, and for the competitors that was nothing to joke about. March 12, the Lee County Special Olympics held a county wide bowling tournament at the AMF Auburn Lanes bowling alley.
The tournament, which is broken up into divisions based on average scores, gender and age, is the regional qualifier for the state tournament, will take place May 14-16. "These competitors practice year round for this," said Alison Hall, community programs director for the city of Auburn and board member for the Exception Outreach Organization. "Competitors must be at least 8 years old, but our oldest is 67 years old, so we have a wide range. They also have to have a medical waiver on file as well as a minimum of 15 practice scores documented with us." Hall said school age competitors practice at their schools during physical education classes, while the adult competitors have weekly time slots for when they can use the bowling alley to practice.
"You would be surprised by how competitive it is," said Willie Cummings, bowling coach for a group of the Special Olympics bowlers. Cummings, who meets with his group of bowlers every Monday, recalled a story of a particular competitor at last year's state tournament. "There was one girl in particular who was just two or three pins from getting a medal," said Cummings in reference to the top three
finishers who are rewarded with medals. "When she only got a ribbon for her score, she was devastated. She just cried and cried because she had put so much heart into it and really wanted that medal.
Cummings said, despite the occasional upset for some, the whole Special Olympics program is amazing not only for the competitors, but for their families and the volunteers as well.
In Lee County, the opportunities for Special Olympics competitors vary depending on the time of the year. Hall said locally competitors can participate in bowling, golf,
gymnastics, track and field, swimming and basketball. Melissa Northcutt, a mother of a Special Olympics athlete, finds the whole organization priceless.
"I have three other children who have always been able to compete in sports, so for Casey to be able to have his own sport is just great," said Northcutt of her son who competes in the bowling competition and is also a former track and field competitor.
While the bowlers want to walk away with the high score, for the fans it is just enough to see the happiness it brings to these athletes who have overcome so much adversity to get here. "It's a lot of fun really," Cummings said as he proudly watched his adopted son, Jason, bowl his first strike of the day. "See, that's what makes it so awesome."
As Cummings walked off to congratulate Jason the crowd erupted in applause, and yet another athlete is made to feel like a gold medal winner thanks to the work and effort of the Special Olympics.
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