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Escambia Special Olympics Held At Tate (With Gallery)
April 14, 2012
The big race was almost over. Everyone had crossed the finish line, except for a young lady named Kailee that had not even started. Kailee just sat in her wheelchair, not going along with plans of her Special Olympic “buddies”. They wanted her run the race. She wanted no part.
But the crowd began to chant her name. “Kailee, Kailee.” The confidence begin to build. Over and over, the crowd called her name louder and louder. “Kailee, Kailee!”
She, albeit cautiously, stepped up from her wheelchair with the help of a buddy.
She tapped her white cane on the track. That confident look disappeared from her face. Visually impaired, Kailee could not see what was ahead; she latched onto a buddy. Fear in her wandering eyes. The crowd continued their encouragement. “Kailiee! Kailee!”. She was center of attention in her corner of Pete Gindl Stadium.
Kailee picked her foot up high and stepped ahead. She felt around with her white cane. Solid ground, perhaps not so bad. She began to smile and went ahead. As she gained speed, her smile grew.
Her blond hair began to wave in the wind and she headed step after step toward the finish line. Beaming and grinning, she crossed the finish line. The crowd roared, smiles everywhere. A man watching the race wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
Kailee’s total time in the 30 meter? It really didn’t matter that it was probably five minutes. She was a big winner.
That’s the special part of the Escambia County Special Olympics held Friday at Tate High School — everybody, no matter their physical or mental disability, was their own winner.
Over 500 athletes from 18 schools took part in Friday’s event, showing off their competitive skills in a variety of events. Hundreds of Tate High students also took part, running event and serving as volunteer “buddies” for the athletes.
The day included track and field events, softball and tennis ball tosses, and other competitive events — plus fun events like fishing games, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, face painting and more.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top series: Kailee, a visually impaired student, takes part in the Escambia County Special Olympics Friday morning at Tate High School. Pictured inset and below: More scenes from the event. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Pictured:
Comments
16 Responses to “Escambia Special Olympics Held At Tate (With Gallery)”
As a tate student, I can truly say that hosting special olympics & buddying with all of those kids was a GREAT experience. I hope they do it at Tate again next year, since i will be graduating.
My name is Dwight DuMond. I am the Special Olympics Schools’ Coordinator. Thank you for this story. It was great reading all of these comments. Tate High did a great job. I will let all of you know that Tate will host these games from now on.
I also would like to say to all of the parents of these children who competed at Tate, these games at Tate are not the official Special Olympics games. The school district hosts these games in conjunction with Special Olympics to show these students a little of what Special Olympics has to offer. The Escambia County Special Olympics would love all of these students to officially join the program. You can join by going to the website http://www.specialolympicsescambia.org.
I am Kailee’s other grandmother and I live in Henderson, NV and as I am disabled I never get to see my grandchildren so I thank you for this wonderful story to see my beautiful granddaughter so happy…keep up the good work..for all the children
This is an awesome story. It is so nice to see the high school students caring enough to help out with this wonderful event. Way to go Kailee, we are so proud of you!! We Love You,keep up the good work!!
It warms my heart to see the joy on her little face, knowing how much that means to a child, we may never truely know. As a proud grandmother I just wanted to say how pleased I am that the Special Olympics and the team of other youngsters are in place to make it happen. Hugs to all, Kennedy”s Proud Grandma
Thank you Tate High School. You all did an outstanding job hosting the Special Olympics, and I agree that you should host it each year. The hundreds of teens that participated as buddies not only showed their compassion and spirit but also learned invaluable lessons that can’t be taught in any classroom. Olympic events, lots of great games, face painting, and even a petting zoo made it a truly great day for everyone in attendance.
The Special Olympians are always winners and their efforts were absolutely heartwarming and inspiring!
We are Kailee’s grandparents and we live in California. We dont get to see our grandbabies as much as we like and this wonderful article made our day. We would like to thank everyone that planned, set up, and participated in this great event. Your efforts have made Kailee very happy and and speeks volumes of your community. THANK YOU so very much!
BTW, Thanks to all the people who make this possible for those who really are special!
The Special Olympics have a special place in my heart for all who compete. I had a young down’s syndrome girl who worked for me (helping me with the animals) years ago and she was so good at it and so sweet. She had a very special way with animals and now she works for a veterinarian cleaning cages and helping with animals (she walks dogs, gives boarded animals attention, etc.). I was so pleased that she could do something to help herself and the animals. It all started with her attending the Special Olympics, giving her the confidence she needed. Congratulations to all of the ones who entered…it is not just about winning, it is about building confidence to try!
this is really a great story glad to see people actually care!!!!
So proud of all the young men and women at Tate for helping out.
Thank to all these super people and thanks to Tate for hosting the event ,and thanks for NorthEscambia .com for the coverage ,nothing about this in PNJ thank again NorthEscambia. R,B.
God Bless these special people !!!!
What a wonderful story…I miss working on the school buses with these wonderful kids…I recognized a lot of them!! I know they had a blast…thanks Tate for a wonderful job!!!
What a heart warming story! What beautiful children! Congratulations to all the winners! You were all amazing and I hope you all had a wonderful time!
It’s so nice to read a hearwarming story when most of the news has been so dreary lately!
I hope they allow Tate to host this each year. They did so much a better job than previous games. Proud of over 700 teens volunteering today to give to others. They showed the true Aggie Spirit and what they were made of today, and it was solid gold.