When Medill freshman Emmy Parsons woke up at 5:30 a.m. Sunday in Morton West High School’s gym to help finish setting up for Special Olympics’ track and field events, she wasn’t expecting to hear the competition would be canceled due to rain.
Parsons, a Special Olympics general track and field coach and member of the publicity and sports committee, arrived at the high school in Berwyn Saturday night with other Special Olympics members to prepare for Sunday’s games.
The group had almost finished setting up when officials in charge of Northwestern’s Special Olympic branch, Area Five, told members the competition was canceled. Special Olympics board members said the event was canceled because of inclement weather and water accumulation on the track the athletes would be using.
“The conditions were just (so) bad that it would be dangerous for the athletes,” said Kara Murphy, the group’s Large-Scale Events co-chairwoman. Normally the games take place rain or shine, the Weinberg senior said. The Area Five competition “hasn’t been canceled in a long time,” she said.
Executive co-chairman Roger Hsieh said the games will not be rescheduled because the group relies on high schools to donate the use of their facilities, and many area schools charge a fee to use them. The Weinberg senior said it’s too late to reschedule the games, but board members next year will work on a back-up plan with Area Five officials in case a situation similar to this year’s happens again.
An Area Five selection committee will instead select athletes randomly to participate in the state games, Hsieh said. He also said some athletes who were supposed to participate in today’s competition have already been selected to participate at the national level. Athletes don’t necessarily have to participate at the state level to make it to the national level, Hsieh said.
Murphy said most of the athletes were informed of the cancellation by telephone but that some showed up and didn’t know the games were called off. She said fewer than 50 athletes showed up at the high school Sunday morning.
“(The athletes) were definitely disappointed,” she said. “On the other hand, we all tried to stay optimistic.”
Murphy noted the “great year” Special Olympics had overall and that the athletes enjoyed the events which have already taken place, not only Sunday’s main event.
“It was disappointing, but our team spirit came through,” Murphy said.
Education co-chairman Charles Rosentel said volunteers for Sunday’s competition were informed of the cancellation in an e-mail sent over the Special Olympics mailing list. Because the event was canceled at about 7:45 a.m., some student volunteers were already on buses on their way to the games, so calls were made to the drivers so they could turn around and come back, the Weinberg senior said.
Volunteer Jessie Stamler was on a bus on her way to the games when she heard the events were canceled. She said because the bus had broken down, she and the other members were only at Chicago Avenue and Clark Street when they heard the news.
“I think everyone was pretty disappointed,” the Weinberg junior said. She also said she and the other volunteers understood it was important to keep everyone safe.
Parsons said she was sad to hear about the cancellation after waking up so early to prepare for the games.
“(The athletes) had been working so hard the entire year,” Parsons said.
Reach Christina Amoroso at [email protected].
