Recently participating in the Special Olympics State Tournament in November, six students earned gold medals, placing first in the volleyball competition at Okun Fieldhouse. The team included seniors Connor Bickle and Alex Gaulke, juniors Tyler Dubas and Tyler Wilson and sophomores Matthew Nesselrode and Brittany Nicholson.

Pat Dubas is the coordinator and director of Special Olympics Shawnee, and is also one of the coaches of the Shawnee Storm. Coaching them has brought her some of her favorite memories while watching the athletes improve every year.

“My favorite part has to be the smiles on their faces,” Dubas said. “[I love] seeing the joy on an athlete’s face after they have achieved their first hit or scored their first basket. [It’s great to see] the ‘I did it moment’ when an athlete realizes ‘I can do this.’”

Bickle enjoys the opportunities he recieves while participating in Special Olympics.

“Basketball is my favorite sport,” Bickle said. “When I shoot and score it’s so cool.”

The Special Olympics were started in the early 1950s by Eunice Kennedy Shriver to provide sports opportunities to the mentally challenged. Its motto “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt,” explains the goals of the unique program. It was also established to supply chances for the intellectually disabled to improve physical fitness, demonstrate courage, have joy in sports and competition and develop skills of interacting with others while participating in athletic activities.

“When I’m there [at the Special Olympics] I get to see friends, meet new people, plus when I get there I get better at basketball,” Wilson said.

Some of these same reasons were why Dubas created the Special Olympics Shawnee program about three years ago. It started with basketball as the only sport and only 13 athletes.

“Special Olympics Shawnee was started in our area to bring more availability and opportunities [for] sports participation to the special needs community [of] western Shawnee and the surrounding communities,” Dubas said.

As a fundraiser for Special Olympics Kansas, the 2012 Polar Plunge is coming to Kansas City on Saturday, Jan. 12. The Polar Plunge is a fundraiser where volunteers jump into frigid waters to benefit the Special Olympics program.