BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Special Olympics Latin American Games begin this Friday (Feb. 19) in Puerto Rico and the 31 athletes attending from St. Kitts-Nevis are said to be in quite high spirits.
“To sum it up in one word, the athletes are anxious. Every day they are talking about the games and their particular events,” Special Olympics Track and Field Coach Sylvester Dore said.
“We are more or less on the track every day with the athletes now and my athletes compete against one another and boast about what they are going to do to the athletes from other islands when they go. It is healthy competition and it is welcomed.”
St. Kitts-Nevis will be departing the Federation tomorrow (Feb. 18) for the February 19-27 games, where athletes from around the Caribbean and Latin America will compete in football, track and field, aquatics, tennis and bocce ball.
Dore said that this is the first time St. Kitts-Nevis will be attending the Latin American Games and the athletes have been training hard for the competition.
“They have always been practicing, but coming up to the games we have intensified their training. Whereas we would have gone on the track once per week before, we are now going three times a week just to make sure they are fully aware of the rules and regulations.
“Just like in the big meets, the coaches cannot be on the track with the athletes so they must know if they are in lane two, they have to stay in lane two and things like that. These little technical details as we head into the competition have to be reinforced,” the coach stated.
Dore noted that the meet would also be a chance for some of the athletes who did not get to travel to last year’s World Games in Shanghai, China to experience the thrill of competition.
“Looking at the fact that it’s within the region and we have some athletes who aren’t quite at the highest level, we decided we are going to give them a chance to be involved in some competition as well. We are more or less carrying those who are low-functioning and so we expect them to do their best and within their best they have fun.
“When they perform at a level and they know they are competing against their peers throughout the region, it gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment that they can carry over into their everyday lives,” Dore said, noting that building self-esteem in the athletes is a paramount goal of Special Olympics.
Special thanks were given to the general public for their continued support of the athletes, as well as to perennial sponsors such as Digicel and the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine.
