Volunteers at Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago 2007
TriniView.com Reporters
Event Date: May 05, 2007
Posted: May 14, 2007
The first day of Special Olympic games took place on Saturday 5th May, 2007, between Hasley Crawford Stadium and Jean Pierre Sports Complex simultaneously, beginning at 9 a.m.
Before the games had begun, volunteers and other personnel had already registered and obtained their bright yellow printed jerseys with "Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago, 25th National Games, 2007" emboldened in blue with its registered logo of people holding hands forming a circle on the top. While some volunteers monitored the registration process, others were already working on arranging the tokens and medals for prize-distribution. Still others were assisting athletes getting them prepared for the games ahead.
The activities that took place on this day were volleyball, basketball, football, bocce and powerlifting. The participants of these sports had either found a way to rotate their activities or had already selected the athletic competitions that they would perform.
The players were decked in their uniforms identifying the different teams: The Association for Developmental Education, BLISS Creative Learning Centre, C.H.I.L.D., Goodwill Industries of the West Indies, Happy Haven Special School, Immortelle Centre, Lady Hochoy Home North, Lady Hochoy Vocational Centre, Lady Hochoy Home Penal, The Memisa Vocational Training School, National Centre for Persons with Learning Disabilities, St. Ann's Hospital, and St. Dominic's Home.
In the activities challenges, there were varying levels of games for those with different physical and intellectual ability levels.
The coaches of the various sports explained how they organized these activities.
In the volleyball games there were two levels of activity: developmental skills and individual skills. Normally the athletes would have engaged in three sets of skills, but because not all the schools took part in these games they could not compete against each other. Entailed in the developmental skills were passing the ball, volleying and serving. In the individual skills, which were for the higher functioning individuals, serving, the forearm pass, spiking and the bump and speck were what the athletes were tested on.
Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago 2007 Basketball
In the basketball challenge, athletes were judged on six skills, three of which the low functioning athletes participated in. Athletes that could not play the full game did skills leading to the game. One of these skills included the 10 meter dribble in which athletes were timed from the time they started until they crossed the finish line. These were judged in seconds and broken down into points. There was also the padded pass where individuals were allowed a maximum of five passes. If they had hit inside the wall they got three points; if they had hit the line they got two points; and if they had hit outside the square, they got one point. Also, if they got the ball properly behind a two point 4 meter line formation they got a bonus point with a maximum of 20 points to be obtained. Another interesting aspect of the game was the 'spot shot' where athletes did 12 shots under the basket: 1.5 meters to the right under the basket, the same at left.
In terms of the bocce, which along with the football, was played outdoors, the game was played for points. Athletes that scored the most points within a frame won the game. Due to time constraints and the high number of players that had to compete, time was an important criteria and athletes had to score within a certain timeframe to win a game. The game was scored by measuring the bocce ball which is closest to the target ball (the white ball). Those who came closest to the target ball got the most points. Each player had to complete a frame which consists of eight ball roles.
In the football matches, the games were moderate to fast paced and had the same general rules as regular football. Goals were scored when the whole of the ball passed over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar. The teams that scored the greater number of goals during a match won or if both teams scored an equal number of goals, or if no goals are scored, the match was considered drawn.
The powerlifting competition, which showed off the remarkable physical strength of the athletes was also quite a sight to see. There were two categories: heavyweight and lightweights. They were tested on their ability to lift the designated weights while keeping in correct form.
The performances of Special Olympics athletes were outstanding as they each did the best they could with the abilities they possessed. Day one of Special Olympics was a success and athletes seemed to be quite excited about day two of the events.
Special Olympics T&T 2007 in pictures:
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