This year has certainly been challenging due to COVID-19. Non-stop cancelations, closures, and disappointments week after week have taken a toll on all of us. In the world of sports, our seasons have been shortened, delayed, or sadly non-existent. For the 5,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities who participate in Special Olympics Maine (SOME), things are no different.

Special Olympics Maine typically offers upwards of 75 competitions a year, at the local, state, national and international level. For many of the athletes, Special Olympics is actually a way of life, with year round sports training and competition opportunities. Our athletes train for a minimum of six weeks before each competition and in Special Olympics, there is no off season.

In early March the COVID-19 pandemic forced Special Olympics Maine to make the difficult choice of shutting down all in-person training, competition, and fundraising events. Like all athletes, everything our participants were training for and looking forward to had come to an abrupt halt. In those early days, with no idea what was to come, the program announced they would be stopping for a few weeks. Unfortunately the weeks quickly turned into months.

In addition to helping my own high school senior cope with the loss of an All Star Game, no spring sports, and the fear of not having a graduation ceremony, I also had the difficult job of disappointing our athletes week after week with each announcement of one more cancelation. It was heartbreaking to try to explain to the athletes why we were not able to offer events that so many people were looking forward to and worked so hard for.

However, the Special Olympic Maine athletes are resilient and strong; they have the amazing gift of finding the positive in some pretty sad situations. Despite the heartbreak, the staff knew there was no way they could allow Special Olympics to be cancelled, it was just going to have to look a little different.

Before the close of business that last day in March, the SOME staff had already put together a Weekly Warrior Challenge that would be offered to all athletes virtually through the end of summer. Athletes were given workouts to try and after completion at the end of each week they were eligible for certificates of achievement and drawings for incentives.

By the third week of March, the athletes were not only participating as Weekly Warriors, but they were also being offered online classes and training sessions that included workouts, nutrition, healthy cooking, sports skills, introductions to new sports, oral hygiene and foot care videos as well as mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing tips. Athletes learned about combining drumming and exercise, they took part in national dance challenges, and even our youngest athletes submitted videos of how they were staying healthy and active at home. This fall our athletes participated in a National Stride Challenge and in January we will be offering a month of winter sports competitions.

Social opportunities were also offered through weekly themed Zoom gatherings: a virtual dance, a virtual campfire sing along, and in two weeks SOME will host a virtual holiday party. We are getting creative and thinking outside the box more than ever. It is so important to us that our athletes stay healthy and involved, while staying apart.

With virtual opportunities now in place, fundraising becomes a big focus. With all live fundraising events canceled, the program is in desperate need of money in order to get the athletes back on the playing field in 2021. On New Year’s Day the annual Lobster Dip for Special Olympics Maine is offering a virtual Lobster Roll, participants will put on their bathing suits and take a roll in the snow.

For more details on how to take part in the Lobster Roll please visit https://www.somaine.org/get-involved/lobster-dip/. For more details on how Special Olympics Maine is moving forward visit www.somaine.org. For details on virtual opportunities visit https://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsMaine.