Weekend Warriors - the Volunteers & Athletes

The Massachusetts Special Olympic Winter Games were this past weekend and 13 LA students were exhausted and ready for a break by late Sunday afternoon.  They left early on Saturday morning and returned late afternoon, only to make quick change, so 7 of them could attend and volunteer at one of the dinners/dance that evening.  Then they returned again early on Sunday for the final games and medal ceremonies.  Our students were only 13 out of 1200 total volunteers needed to pull off this event where over 2500 athletes participated in basketball, skiing, bowling or floor hockey. Venues included 9 high schools in the Worcester, Auburn and Shewsbury area, Wachusett Mountain, two bowling lanes and Assumption College's rec center.

Basketball happened at nine different venues. Our students were involved with basketball at the largest venue, Shrewsbury High School (4 courts and 29 teams). They were impressed by the competitive nature of the games and the high level of sportsmanship on the courts.  They assisted with the set up and clean up for each game throughout the day.  They also ran the clocks and kept score for many of the games.  

At the dance they served the buffet dinner  and also ran fun booths like tatoos, basketball free throws, face painting and etc. They served ice cream in between catching a few dances with the athletes, as well.




On Sunday, they helped with the final games. They were there to congratulate the athletes at the medal ceremonies.  Gold, Silver or Bronze medals are given to the team members who earn those respective spots as they play other teams in their division.

This week they will be focused on  the clean-up and re-organizing of the things they need to bring back to the Yawkey Training Center.  (Mr. Poulin let them sleep in on Monday since they worked all weekend!)