Special Olympics athletes take the court in district basketball tournament

While athletes from around the world competed for gold at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, regional athletes from Southeast Missouri to St. Louis competed just for the fun of it in Cape Girardeau during the 2010 Special Olympics District Basketball Tournament.

The event attracted so many teams that three simultaneous venues were needed: Trinity Lutheran Church, the Southeast Missouri State University Student Recreation Center and the Osage Community Centre.

"It's exciting times out there, it really is," said Penny Williams of the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, which manages the Osage Centre. "[The athletes] practice once a week, just like anyone else does, and it's an opportunity for them to come together. And a lot of these guys have been practicing for eight weeks prior to coming here."

The day-long event included games between the St. Louis-based TASK Tigers and the St. Francois County All-Stars, and the Sassy Lassys versus the Hawks.

"[Organizers] bracket based on ability, then they mix it all up and re-bracket everything into the next level and that's how there will be teams in Kansas City that play ours and so on," Williams said.

Volunteers including Southeast students and athletes' parents helped out during what for many is the biggest day of their lives.

"For me, it's my son. That's why I'm here," said Dave Weilbaecher of St. Louis who helps coach the Tigers. "His whole social life is through Special Olympics. We've got four teams down here, and he knows them all. But he does softball, he does bowling, so those along with basketball, those are his main sports."

Scott Williams, Penny's husband, is the city of Cape Girardeau's recreation division manager, and he helped coordinate Southeast Missouri State University's leg of the tournament. He said the relationship between the city park system and Special Olympics is a strong one.

"We like to offer programs for special populations and Special Olympics is a natural fit," he said. "Not only does this allow local athletes to be active and compete but it allows Cape Girardeau to get tournaments like this, which benefit everybody: athletes, volunteers, it books hotel rooms and gets people to come to the community."

Winning teams from the tournament will advance to the Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament, which will be in March in St. Charles, Mo.

"Everyone always asks me, 'When is Special Olympics,'" Penny Williams said. "But I want people to know that Special Olympics is year-round. The track and field gets a lot of the publicity. But just like you're witnessing today, we have 950 athletes that came to Cape Girardeau for basketball."

Volunteers from the Missouri State High School Activities Association officiated the tournament.

"It's been great," said MSHSAA referee Jason Lipe, who volunteered for his second year with Special Olympics. "A lot of them you see from last year and it's good to chat with them and catch up."

As an official normally assigned to games throughout the state where rivalries can get rather heated, Lipe said that working with Special Olympics is a nice change of pace, offering a level of sportsmanship that he is not accustomed to.

"Even after they foul they'll raise their hand and admit that they fouled someone," he said. "And they always congratulate each other on a good game, no matter what."