Cultural Event- Special Olympics Summer Games 2010

The cultural event that I chose to evaluate was the Special Olympics 2010 Summer Games. This event took place from Friday, April 29th until Sunday, May 2nd at Mesa Community College. The Special Olympic website estimated that there were over 1,000 athletes with a variety of challenges, competing in eight different events from track and field all the way to kayaking. The website also predicted that there would be over 500 coaches and more than700 volunteers, making this a sizeable event. The kayaking portion of the games was held at Tempe Town Lake in conjunction with the City of Tempe.

I, unfortunately, did not get a chance to see the Kayaking, of which our guests speakers from class are participating in. I attended the portion at Mesa Community College (MCC) where I got to see track and field competition, including the shot put and the softball throw. As I walked over to the area of the field designated for the softball toss, I was surprised to see someone I knew getting ready to compete. From 2002 to 2006, I worked at a summer camp for children and adults with a wide variety of physical and intellectual disabilities called Lion’s Camp Tatiyee. We typically served upwards of 500 campers a summer and I, personally, developed dozens of close friendships with people through this experience, one of which was Jennifer. Jennifer is approximately 30 years old and has a primary diagnosis of Downs Syndrome, as well as several secondary diagnoses, one of which I remember being Bi-polar disorder. Her coach also happened to be a friend of mine that worked with me at the summer camp and is now working as the Program Manager of a group home that Jennifer happens to be living in.

I went to the event thinking that it was kind of a copout that I would choose a Special Olympic event for this assignment given that I have previous experience with this population or culture. What I failed to realize, however, was the limited context in which I had contact with this population and the limited information this left me with. At a summer camp, I got to see people for six days a year, they lived in our dorms, and were involved in our activities. We had a great time, but it was not true sampling of what THEIR life looked like. This Special Olympics event was not Jennifer experiencing camp on my terms, it was me experience Jennifer’s life on her terms.

I said hello but Jen, as her friends call her (apparently), did not recognize me right away. Once her coach, Marisol, reminded her that I was from camp, her face lit up and she gave me a big hug. Right after that, she said that she could not talk because her event was coming up soon and she needed to focus. She put her IPOD earphones in and went back concentrating on her event. As I turned to Marisol, she said that nothing distracts her from her softball throw.

And this was the great revelation to me. As I looked around the track, I did not see a bunch of special needs individuals participating in an event in order to get a hug. What I saw was a group of athletes, who happened to have special needs, competing to win their event. I had packaged Special Olympics as a neat opportunity for Down syndrome kids to get ribbons. I was ignorant to the truth about what kind of competition was actually happening. My friend told me that Jen practices the softball throw three times a week and gets upset when her routine is thrown off. She has even received coaching from elite competitors who teach technique to improve results.

Professionally speaking, I believe that understanding people is the essential ingredient to being able to help in any real, substantial way. As a Non Profit major, this is my professional, as well as personal, imperative; to help people. As I saw the event through this new perspective, I feel like I got to see a side of my friend Jen, as well as the other athletes, in a new light. I was surprised, and embarrassed. I felt like I should have known better, seeing as how I had experience with this population. What I took away from this event was a better understanding, not only of the population of people with disabilities, but of how preconceived notions can skew how I see a given culture. My view of this culture, based on my limited interactions with these people, handicapped my ability to see the truth, which is all people are dynamic and have many nuances that make them who they are, which is special.
I know, the end was corny, but I believe it is true.