Record numbers race in Special Olympics

By CHRIS TUCKER

Whitefish Pilot

Special Olympics athlete Daniel Fabel eagerly started his ski run down the novice downhill course on Big Mountain's Chipmunk ski run Monday.

"Follow the blue line," a race worker yelled as Fabel, who was on the Flathead Industries team, took off and began curving left and right around the gates and followed a blue course line marked into the snow.

Shortly afterward, Cedar Vance, from Whitefish, took off down the course. She not only allowed gravity and the gentle slope to move her down the course, but also aggressively dug her ski poles into the snow to build up more speed.

Course workers cheered the athletes on as they raced down the slope.

David Snuggs, vice president of sports and competition for the Montana Special Olympics, wasn't surprised by Vance's speedy descent. He was sitting in a chair at the bottom of the novice downhill course watching the day's activities.

"This is about inclusion, this is about getting out, giving it their best, improving with experience and hopefully having the chance to grow with the program," Snuggs said of Special Olympics.

Snuggs recalled a moment from the Montana Winter Games about two years ago when a 15-year-old volunteer showed up at the advanced downhill course near Chair 3.

"Well, the athletes came flying by him, and they're all wearing their helmets, and he says to me, 'When are your athletes coming down?'"

"Those are our athletes," Snuggs told the surprised youth. "This is advanced downhill. They train eight weeks for this."

Snuggs told the volunteer what the athlete's finish time was, and the boy said it was faster than he could ski himself.

"You could see in this kid's eyes that whatever his perception was of our athletes was gone," Snuggs said.

Snuggs said 255 athletes were competing in 25 different teams in the winter Special Olympics this year. He said it was the largest group of athletes in the 12 years the event has been held on Big Mountain.

Opening ceremonies were held Sunday, March 4, and racers competed in various competitive events Monday and Tuesday, including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing and snowboarding.

Athletes came from all across the state — Butte, Browning, Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Great Falls, Havre, Kalispell, Missoula and more.

Snuggs was pleased with how the races were going.

"A lot of them rarely get a chance to compete at a quality facility like this, let alone ski with athletes that are not in the Special Olympics program via ski buddies," he said. "I've seen some amazing results."