Special Olympics: ‘It Will Change You’

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX) – When he was just a baby, Jack suffered “extreme abuse” and was thereafter taken from his home. Foster parents took care of him, but as a young person he never found a permanent home; he went from one foster home to another.

Now in his 40s, Jack has had but one constant in his life: Special Olympics.

“The Special Olympics is his family,” said Laurie La Follette, executive director of Special Olympics Idaho.

La Follette and her crew – and some 600 athletes from around the state as well as several hundred volunteers – are preparing for the Summer Games this weekend in Twin Falls.

“I am thrilled. I think it’s a beautiful city and have found the community to be very warm and embracing,” she said. “To be honest, I’ve thought about having the games in Twin for at least six years now. This time the stars just aligned.”

This will be the city’s first time hosting the Special Olympics – but not its last. You can expect to see the Summer Games in Twin Falls the following two years.

“We wanted to make a three-year commitment,” La Follette said.

The Idaho chapter, headquartered in Garden City, started providing training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in 1971, with the first games being held the next year in Pocatello. They’ve since been hosted in many regions of the state, but besides some regional winter competitions they have not been held in south-central Idaho until now.

Several community partners stepped up to make it happen, including Chobani, which with its $15,000 donation is the presenting sponsor.

The event will include aquatics, basketball, cycling, flag football, powerlifting, and track and field. Opening ceremonies begin at 7 p.m. Friday at Canyon Ridge High School, and the games begin Saturday at the school and the Twin Falls City pool.

The sports are fun, La Follette said, but they’re the vehicle to a larger purpose.

“What we really do, through the power of sports and the athletes, is create communities of inclusion and acceptance – and not just among those with disabilities,” she said. “I have seen it and have personally experienced it.”

She laments that there’s still great ignorance in the world, even in the U.S., about those with disabilities; but she’s hopeful – and on a personal level can attest to it – that Special Olympics is opening people’s eyes.

Even now, after being executive director for 13 years, she still becomes emotional when talking about the athletes.

“We have a long way to go, but it is amazing what is being done internationally with Special Olympics,” she said.

Like Jack, the other athletes haven’t had an easy life. Every day they have to overcome new challenges, but they’ve learned to do that in large part because of Special Olympics, for which they train many months out of the year.

“If anybody is despairing, especially with all the negative things going on these days, believing that there are no more heroes left in the world, I challenge them to come out and watch our athletes compete,” La Follette said.

“They will see the best in the human spirit, the best in humanity and sportsmanship. The athletes have obstacles to overcome daily, but here they are showcasing their talents to the world. It will change you.”