Aurora Borealis Branch Volunteers for Special Olympics
By CDR Christina Eldridge and CDR Anne Marie Bott
Special Olympics Alaska (SOAK) offers 14 Olympic-style sports in four seasons for athletes with intellectual disabilities. The most popular sport and the largest tournament in Alaska every year is the Bowling Tournament. Although bowling does not belong to the Olympic sports, it does ensure physical exercise and encourages participation and social integration. The bowling event has been part of the SOAK program since the mid-1970’s and is often referred to as the most fun event of the year!
Athletes from all across the state train for two months leading up to their local competition where they compete to advance to the state competition. This year, 200 athletes and partners qualified to participate in the state tournament which was held November 20-22, 2015 at Eagle River Bowl. Over 60 delegation members, including coaches and chaperones, traveled with the Special Olympics athletes from six communities in Alaska, including Anchorage, Matanuska-Susitna, Fairbanks, Juneau, Homer, and Kodiak. All of the non-Anchorage participants and delegations are provided accommodations at a local hotel, where meals are served from local volunteers.
Commissioned Officers from the Aurora Borealis branch have been involved with SOAK in various volunteer activities over the last ten years, including food service, awards and score-keeping. Because of the long-standing commitment to the organization and dedication to serve, SOAK depends on the COA Aurora Borealis branch to provide all breakfast and dinner service at the hotel for the four annual state tournaments. During the state Bowling Tournament this year, over 25 Officers served both breakfast and dinner to athletes, coaches and chaperones.
