When Petal’s Ruby Miller and her four Hub City Region Special Olympians board a plane Saturday morning for the USA Games in Seattle, Wash., they will already be winners for the commitment, sacrifice and hard work they’ve put in to get where they are now.
Area Special Olympics Directors Amber Wadsworth and her sister, Allison, left Hattiesburg Friday with the Olympians and a chaperone or two on their way to New Orleans. The group will spend the night there before flying out Saturday to compete in the national games alongside 4,000 other athletes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The star-studded Opening Ceremonies at Huskey Stadium on the University of Washington campus will be aired on ESPN, as will competitions and other parts of the week-long event.
Athletes will compete in 14 different sports during competition which runs July 1-6. The Hub City group will participate in three sports represented by five athletes. Approximately 25 to 30 other athleties from across the Magnolia State will also be competing.
The opening ceremonies are set for Sunday with competition running Monday through Saturday.The team will return home the following Sunday.
Miller and Grover Fairley of Hattiesburg will both compete in bowling; Haley Graham of Sumrall will take part in bocce and Hattiesburgers Calandra Taylor and Arther Smith will take part in track & field competitions.
Those competing had to qualify for nationals and then be picked. “This is a huge opportunity,” said Wadsworth.
Last Friday, Miller and Fairley were getting in some of their last practices at the bowling alley in Petal. They were also breaking in their new bowling shoes and new balls.
Fairley has been bowling for about two years and his highest score to date is a 151.
“Grover is an excellent bowler,” said Wadsworth. “He works Monday through Friday and is also a great artist ,who has designed several Special Olympics T-shirts.”
Ruby, 24, has been participating in Special Olympis since she was 8 and this is her first time to qualify for nationals, whereas Graham has only been a part of the program for one year, had no idea what bocce was, and qualified for national competition, according to Wadsworth.
“Ruby has gone from bowling a score of 30 to a 70 or 80 with her highest being 92,” said Wadsworth. “They’ve improved so much. And Grover got three strikes the other day. I supposedly coach them, but they coach me. It’s just amazing to see what they’ve done. But not just bowling. The track guys, they are fast as lightning and Haley picked up on bocce right away.”
Miller and Fairley will compete alongside two others on the state’ bowling team which Wadsworth will coach. Each of the team members will participate in singles, doubles and team competition.
Team members have also had to learn some important rules before competition. According to Wadsworth, they’ve had to learn the order they bowl in and when they bowl twice.
“If you get out of order, you get disqualified. It’s very strict. If they cross over the line, they are fouled. It’s Special Olympics, but it’s competition and serious. It’s not, ‘Oh, you get another turn.’ There are no bumpers, They’ve had to learn and they help each other.”
While Wadsworth will be sitting behind her team, she also can be penalized for helping too much.
Members of each team will wear matching uniforms.
“They’ve also had responsibilities as far as their uniforrms,” said Wadsworth. “Uniforms have to be ironed, neat and clean. They cannot look sloppy, but be uniform as a team.”
Wadsworth and Allison brought the local program back to the Pine Belt about three years ago after a 10-year absence.
“It’s very exciting for us to have just been back this amount of time, to have trained these athletes, to have so much talent, to have qualified, not only to go to nationals, but to have five from our area. That’s the most from the entire state from a region.”
Competition at the national level will also be a first for the Hub City region, as far as they know.
Miller’s mother, Barbara, whose daughters have been competing for at least 16 years, said to her knowledge the Pine Belt had never sent a team.
But this trip is about more than competition. It will also be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For four of the Olympians, this will be their first airplane trip (Haley is the only one to have ever flown before) and extended time away from family and friends. Most have only been away from family for a couple of days at the most while competiting at the state level at Keesler Air Force Base on the Gulf Coast.
“Half of them call me and Allison their other mother, so we’ll be OK,” Wadsworth said. Allison will also be tending to mother duties such as helping with laundry, medication and wherever else she’s needed.
As Wadsworth talks about the trip, she watches Miller as she prepares to send a ball down the lane.
“Straight wrist, straight arm,” she reminds her. And whether she got two pins, eight pins or a strike, there is celebrating – high fives and praise for the effort.
“Ruby is our little diva (which is evidenced by the shiny tiara she wears on her head),” said Wadsworth. “She’s head strong and loves attention.”
Wadsworth said during their bowling practices in Petal or at Hub Lanes in Hattiesburg, Miller and Fairley are very supportive of one another, offering encouragement from time to time.
The competitors, who are being housed at Washington University, will have some down town where they will attend a Seattle Mariners game and do some other sightseeing around the area.
Everything for the athletes is covered – airfare, lodging, meals, new uniforms from head to toe and luggage.
While the local group held a huge and very successful T-shirt drive to raise money, the state Special Olympics chapter’s fundraising efforts will cover most of the cost. “We have had to do just a small portion,” Wadsworth said.
Team members have been training for about a year. And the bowlers have been practicing every week since February.
On Saturday they were in Jackson for one last practice as a team of four. “We just have so much talent,” Wadsworth said.
The coach commends both Burkett Ross of Petal and Hub Lanes of Hattiesburg, who have let the team practice free of charge. “We appreciate them allowing us to use several lanes for several years,” she said. “We really appreciate their help. They’ve been phenomenal.
For now, “it’s in the Lord’s hands. We’re going to have a wonderful time. It’s going to be a great experience. I think they have nervous jitters, but also excitement. While they compete against each other at the state level, this time we’re Team Mississippi and cheering on everyone.
“It’s not just about winning. We’re going to have a great time and they will do their best and show off their talent because they have worked so hard...all of them.”
