By Joel Burkhardt • Lisbon High School

Winter Special Olympics were held at Sugarloaf U.S.A. Jan. 30 – Feb. 2. Olympians representing L.H.S. were Joel Burkhardt, Nick Wallace, and Scott Wilson. Coaches who attended were Mrs. Benson, Ms. Bennett and Mr. Gurney.

The Lisbon team arrived on Sunday ready to get into our condo. After unpacking and making our beds, we headed to our lodge for our community supper, which was put on by Carabasset Valley residents. After checking out the facilities we walked back to our condo to watch TV, relax, and get ready for our preliminary races on Monday.

Scheduled for our preliminary races in the afternoon, our team practiced for cross-country skiing nearby. We headed to the lodge for our lunch and began to prepare for the “Parade of Athletes.” As we were getting into line, news reporter from Channel 13 stopped to interview us. We were nervous but exited at the thought of being on the news. As we waited to be introduced, our fans (Jerry and Jean Burkhardt and Annette Wilson) took pictures and cheered us on. We said the oath and the Winter Games began!

All 3 athletes successfully participated in their qualifying rounds Monday afternoon. Prior to heading back to our condos, we all enjoyed a ride on “THE CAT,” the sugarloaf grooming machine. Before the banquet and dance, our team relaxed and ate in our condo. The banquet and dance proved to be a great time for all. The highlights of the evening were the spectacular fireworks and skiers skiing through a flame of fire. Exhausted, we headed back to the condo for a good nights rest next to a crackling fire.

Up at the crack of dawn, we packed up our gear and headed to the Nordic Center for our final competition. The weather was cool, but sunny. We tried our best and were rewarded as a team with 3 medals (2 gold/1 silver), and 3 ribbons. It was a VICTORIOUS day.

Our team’s next Special Olympic Challenge will be the Bowling Tournament in March at Spare Time Recreation.