And I was wrong. Who knew there are so many rules in badminton? We were given a quick 30 minute crash course in badminton and then went off to officiate matches. I'm pretty sure that I was a horrible court official. I think I was more nervous than the athletes. Medals and badminton glory were on the line and I didn't want to make a bad call (which I'm sure I did).
Seriously though, Special Olympics was a lot of fun. And, as cheesy as it sounds (and I know it sounds really cheesy), winning and losing took a backseat at Special Olympics. The athletes typified the very meaning of good sportsmanship. It was very rewarding to see the sense of accomplishment from all the athletes. It's one of those moments when you can see what makes sports so great. I feel privileged to to have had a small role in the event's operations and helping facilitate that experience. Plus they gave us t-shirts and some lunch! Hopefully I didn't make too many bad calls and we're allowed to come back in the future.
Two side notes:
- Power lifting was going on at the same time. I didn't have a chance to watch it much (because, as I previously explained, I was so focused on my matches and not ruining badminton glory), but what I did see was really impressive. Put it this way: I was at the gym the next day and felt quite inadequate... more than normal.
- My mom decided that, in her continual effort to be as politically correct as possible, the game should called "good-minton". She also told a few of my friends to not let bartenders put fruit in their drinks. It's a germs/hygiene kick that she's on. My mom is full of all sorts of great advice.
For more information on Special Olympics South Carolina, please visit www.so-sc.org.
1 comment:
When I was first asked to be a volunteer with the Special Olympics, I was slightly hesitant as I have never volunteered or worked with special needs people. I was worried that I wasn't going to know what to do or how to act if I was put in a situation where something was to happen. I was just worried that I would say something wrong, or do something to offend someone, even though I've never done anything in the past to make me that way. I guess I was just nervous overall about the entire event!
Once everything got rolling, my nerves started to fade as I started interacting with all of the players. It was a really incredible experience, even though I had no major part in the event. Just talking with the players and their coaches and seeing how intense they were with the game, it was really eye opening. I guess I just assumed that the games weren't a big deal and that no one really cared about Special Olympics, but after about 5 minutes my entire outlook changed. Seeing how important the game was to the players made me really want to try harder and be more involved in it.
I loved walking around talking to the players and hearing how each game went. Even though I didn't do much at the event, I really felt inspired to do more. I can't wait to help out at the next event and am looking in to volunteering a lot more.
I truly got out much more than I put it and it was a great experience.
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