CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Come Sunday, athletes ages 8 to 80-plus will converge on Sugarloaf to compete in the Special Olympics Maine Winter Games.

Nearly 500 athletes with intellectual disabilities are expected to participate in the events from Sunday, Jan. 30, to Tuesday, Feb. 1, said Linda Fredericks, director of administration and family services for Special Olympics Maine.

Teams from all over the state will begin to arrive midafternoon Sunday, she said. After they check in they will be assigned condos, where most stay, and hotel rooms. Then they head to the base lodge for a potluck community supper from 6 to 7 p.m., hosted by volunteers from the Sugarloaf area.

“It’s just wonderful,” Fredericks said.

Including the athletes, coaches, chaperons and volunteers, they feed more than 800 people.

The athletes will enjoy some free time, skate time and a sing-along before they settle in and rest up for the games, she said.

Volunteers from all over help the athletes have fun and raise money for the cause.

A full day of competition is scheduled for Monday. Special Olympians will compete in downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, speed skating and dual skiing.

The big highlight Monday is opening ceremonies at noon. Athletes will parade into the courtyard at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain as their teams are called.

This year, they will sport turquoise and royal blue scarves in different patterns, made by people across the state.

“I’m pleased to say we actually have over 800 scarves,” Fredericks said.

As part of the ceremony, athletes will recite the Special Olympians’ Oath: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Special Olympian Keith Draper of Greene will light the torch before the games begin in earnest.

Following the daylong competition, athletes and those with them will gather in the Base Lodge for a banquet, a torchlight parade, fireworks and a Victory Dance. The theme this year is “Sixty and Sixties.” It celebrates the 60th anniversary of Sugarloaf and the 1960s.

On Tuesday, final competitions will be held before closing ceremonies at about noon. Then, the flame will be extinguished for another year.

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