ANNUAL GAMES DRAW 300 AREA ATHLETES

By STEPHEN HAMMILL

On a chilly Friday morning, Gaither High School’s student body came out to welcome more than 300 athletic visitors to the campus.
The high school at 16200 N. Dale Mabry Highway hosted its annual Special Olympics Feb. 16 as athletes from nearly 20 different middle and high schools participated.

The special needs kids were partnered up with Gaither student-volunteers, called buddies, for the day.

Christina Franco, a Gaither senior, was a buddy to Crystal Cintron, an 18-year old Gaither student. Cintron competed in the wheelchair race.

“I worked at the YMCA for a few years in the adoptive program,” said Franco, whose cousin has Down syndrome and is also a Special Olympian. She takes pride in seeing her fellow students accept others who aren’t always accepted in society.

“Watching them when they cross the finish line is great, because it doesn’t matter whether they finish first or last,” she said.

Special Olympics is an international nonprofit organization that allows mentally and physically-challenged students to compete in a variety of athletic events across the country.

The day before their games, Gaither High School held a school-wide pep rally to galvanize the student body.

“The athletes held up their Olympic torches,” said Gaither teacher Mary Granell, who has been involved with the Special Olympics for the past 10 years.

“They formed a tunnel for the Olympians. The band played for them as they came down through the tunnel to cheers. Some of the athletic coaches said some inspirational words. It was very emotional.”

The festivities began Friday morning with an opening ceremony on the football field. Athletes and their buddies took to the bleachers, sitting with fellow schoolmates as the Gaither band warmed up the crowd.

Superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools MaryEllen Elia was on hand to welcome the athletes and to thank Gaither for hosting the games.
“This is a great event,” Elia said. “The Gaither students are spectacular to work this much for all of the athletes.”

During the games, athletes competed in various track and field events, which included the 800-meter walk and run, the 400-meter relay race, the long jump and tennis ball throw.

There was also a petting zoo on the grounds, plus various tents, run by different Gaither clubs, offering things like bead-making and a Hula-Hoop contest.

“Gaither kids have always worked really well with our special needs kids,” Granell said.

Sarah Kleiner runs the annual Special Olympics at Gaither. She is a teacher in the special education department.

“Despite the cold, everyone is having a good time,” she said.

The Best Buddies program is a subsidiary of the Special Olympics movement and pairs up students with their disabled peers in school.

Tom Denham has been the county coordinator for the Special Olympics for the past three years. He’s been a volunteer with the Special Olympics for the past 25. Denham’s mom is a special education teacher.

“I’ve been everything – a chaperone, a coach, you name it,” he said. “They’re just a great group of folks to be involved with.”

Kleiner and Granell believe it says volumes about their school, having the special needs kids integrated so well with the rest of the student population. Granell said every year, when they put out a request for volunteers, the reaction is overwhelming.

“We get 600 to 700 students who become involved,” she said.

Laura Garcia is a 17-year-old Gaither student. She competed in the softball throw.

“I’m excited to be here,” she said. Her buddy for the day was Danielle Magee, a junior at Gaither. This was Magee’s second year volunteering with the Special Olympics.

“The pep rally was so much fun. Everyone was excited for them,” she said.

Gayle Curtiss is head of the ESE (Exceptional Students Education) department at Gaither. She has noticed the entire school doing the job of making the games a success every year.

“There is so much the other teachers do – the sorting of the lists, the water donations. It’s a huge effort,” she said.

Eighteen schools partook in the games this year. Gaither alone sent 48 of its special-needs students to participate. About 350 athletes competed in all, and each received a Special Olympics T-shirt and cowboy hat. The annual event is funded primarily by the school’s Key Club.

After the awards were distributed to all the athletes who completed their events, photos were taken alongside their buddies.

Some of the athletes will move on from this event to the big Special Olympics, to be held at the University of South Florida on March 3 of this year.
While waiting for the buses to arrive, the volunteers, athletes and family members huddled in packs to keep warm.

For information about Gaither’s Special Olympics, contact Sara Kleiner at .