Special Olympics 2010

This weekend was the Texas Special Olympics Summer Games held in Arlington. Gregg and I have been volunteering on the Medical Team for the last 3 years and absolutely love this weekend and spending time with all the athletes! The main Medical Team Coordinator is an Assistant Chief for Irving Fire Department and a lot of the volunteers for Medical are IFD Firemen and UTSW Paramedic students from departments around the DFW area.

This year Gregg and I were assigned to basketball (thanks to my pregnancy and inability to be outside all weekend) and Gregg was in charge of the medical teams in all the gyms. Gregg worked on Thursday and then we both worked Saturday and Sunday. Along with basketball the athletes competed in cycling, gymnastics, soccer, tennis, softball throw, standing long jump, running long jump, shot put, turbojab, and all sorts of track relays. Saturday was the long day for us and we were there from 7:30am till 5:30pm, ran to eat supper at Mercado Juarez and then were back for the dance that night from 6:30pm till 10:00pm. We had so much fun watching basketball all day and getting to cheer on all the players! We have formed special friendships with several of the players that we see each year and enjoy getting to catch up with them and meet new friends.

not our best picture ever but the only picture that we took all weekend

basketball

Hollywood and Rusty

Daniel and Josh

The closing ceremony dance is always held on Saturday night and is so much fun for everyone! The athletes all love the chance to celebrate the weekend and show off their medals and we have a great time dancing and interacting with everyone!

dancing

Denny vs. Nick the Wrestler

After everything was over on Sunday we all went to Mama's to have pizza and celebrate the weekend! I LOVE pizza and especially LOVED Mama's pizza!!!

eating pizza

no more pizza!

Volunteering for the Medical Team for the Summer SOTX games has become such a special part of our lives and is something that we look forward to and love doing each year. The athletes that we meet and the lessons that we learn each year have touched both of us in so many ways.

"I promise to give of the time in my life so that Special Olympic athletes can have the time of their lives. I promise to support Special Olympics not just as an expression of charity, but as a form of respect for my fellow human beings.I promise to spread the word of volunteerism because, in giving, I receive so much more in return."