Colquitt Special Olympics celebrates Spring games

Published 1:51 pm Monday, March 26, 2018

Daisy Collier lights the Special Olympics Flame of Hope to commence the spring games Friday at Colquitt County High School.

MOULTRIE — “And now, following a tradition as old as the Olympic Games themselves, please welcome CCHS athletes Daisy Collier and Garrison Brooks as they bring in the Special Olympics Flame of Hope,” read the announcer as the spring games commenced.

The Special Olympic Spring Games were held Friday at Colquitt County High School with approximately 350 students participating in the sports events.

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Athletes and partners from CCHS, Willie J. Williams Middle School, C.A. Gray, Odom Elementary, Norman Park Elementary, Cox Elementary, Sunset Elementary, Okapilco Elementary, Stringfellow Elementary, Pathways, Hamilton Elementary and surrounding areas from Albany Parks and Recreation, Pelham High School, Calhoun County, Albany ARC, Green Oaks Center and Mitchell-Baker Service League came to compete at the local spring games.

Students participated in events such as team bocce, soccer, softball, Young Athletes activities, and Level A athletics in teams comprised of special needs students and CCHS volunteers.

Special Olympics games give visibility and allow students with disabilities to experience normal athletic activities they may not be able to participate in regularly.

Nate Purser, an eighth grader at Willie J. Williams, played soccer for the first time at the spring games, according to his mother, Nora Cooley.

“He spends most of his time playing video games,” Cooley said. “So it’s nice to see him being active and running around.”

High school volunteers participated in the events alongside the special needs athletes and provided motivation and support when the games got too intense.

MaKayha Hooks participated in the assisted relay 25 meter walk with the help of her teacher Sally Taylor and a support system of volunteers. Her team cheered her on as she crossed the finish line.

A group of youngsters competed in the Young Athletes portion of the spring games and practiced batting and throwing skills with each other, while Gloria Bridges Avery, paraprofessional at Stringfellow Elementary School encouraged them to play with each other.

Organizations from the community set up an “Olympic Town” with different activities or the students ranging from face-painting and tattoos to meeting the Chic-fil-A cow.

Sponsors included Ponda McKinney’s Yoga, the CCHS FCCLA Club, Colquitt Regional Medical Center, Heritage-Breath Ministry, YMCA, Hoes Bros Shaved Ice, State Farm, the Moultrie Chamber of Commerce, Junior Women’s Club, Colquitt County Art Center, Chick-fil-A, America’s Home Place of Valdosta, Moultrie Fire Department, JCI, ABAC on the Square, the Colquitt County Sherriff’s Department and Publix.