Bowling champions, basketball stars and many other athletes reunited Saturday at the Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center for Special Olympics Day in Gainesville and Hall County.

The Special Olympics conducts year-round sports training and athletic competition for people with intellectual disabilities. The athletes are able to learn a new sport, make new friends and gain life skills and confidence through the program.

David Bost, Special Olympics Hall County Management Team’s Public Relations lead, said the event gave athletes an opportunity to realize the community supports them.

Bost explained that the management team recently has been reorganized, and as a result, the team decided to try and reconnect more than 300 athletes.

“We have about 126 coaches, and some of those haven’t been connected in the past several years,” Bost said. “We are also trying to get the community involved.”

Bost said that the event Saturday was an opportunity for coaches and athletes to get together and have fun away from competition.

“A lot of the time, the only time that they get together is when we are practicing or going to competition,” Bost said. “So if they’re not all on the same team doing the same sport, some of the friends don’t get to see each other as often.”

Bost said that the Special Olympics has competitions for the adults who are on the “master’s level” and others for younger competitors who are still in school.

“I believe that we offer 23 different sports, and there are probably 15,000 volunteers statewide,” Bost said. “The Special Olympics is primarily a volunteer-driven organization.”

Bost said that the volunteers’ commitment helps people with disabilities understand that they can compete and contribute to society.

Bost said that the Special Olympics gives the athletes, “a platform where they can work and do something and be rewarded, which gives them self worth.”

Bost was the coach for a recent bocce match in Statesboro in October. He said that watching his athletes compete was an “awesome feeling.”

“There were only two of them who had played bocce before, and the rest of them had primarily done softball, so helping them learn the game and learn how to compete was a whole lot of fun,” said Bost, who had two gold medal teams.

Dr. Tom Crumbley, a chiropractor in Gainesville who provides physical exams for athletes, said that he loves being able to help out.

Chris Badura, Special Olympics Hall County Management Team Chairperson, said that helping with the special Olympics always has been a passion of his.

“It takes your attention of yourself, and you put your heart and soul into someone else,” Badura said. “To see them smile no matter what place they come in, that’s the biggest thing. They have fun no matter what they are doing.”

Lisa Castleberry recently competed in master bowling. When asked if she’s good at it, she exclaimed, “Oh yeah! I get high scores!”
Castleberry has made a few friends while participating in bowling, and she was excited to see them Saturday.

Her sister, Carol Wittig, said Castleberry has been involved in the Special Olympics for nearly all of her life.

Wittig said that watching the kids practice and watching them learn how to play is amazing.

“You see this big smile on their faces,” Wittig said. “There is nothing that warms your heart more than these kids.”