Minnetonka Hosts State's Special Olympics Spring Games

Minnetonka High School is playing host to the 2011 Special Olympics Minnesota Spring Games this weekend.  On Saturday, the school was packed with hundreds of athletes with intellectual disabilities who competed in basketball and powerlifting events.

Among the participants was Minnetonka High alumni Alex Ashkar, 26.

“It’s really fun,” Ashkar told Minnetonka Patch—in between cheering on teammates during a tough basketball match-up between teams from Minnetonka and Itasca.

Ashkar plays for Blues Basketball—a group of four basketball teams made up of athletes from Minnetonka, Hopkins, Edina, Minneapolis and Eden Prairie who participate in Special Olympics activities throughout the year.

Kevin Campion’s son Peter, 22, has been playing with the Blues since 1996.

“He loves it, he absolutely loves it,” Campion said.  “It’s really really wonderful.”

Because the Blues won their division at a Special Olympics regional tournament that was held in Rochester in March, the team was paired up against the team from Itasca—tough competition—and ultimately lost the game 51-27. But according to Blues Basketball Head Coach Bill Dossett, playing on this team is about much more than winning games.

“Encouragement,” Dossett said. “And Special Olympics becomes their social network, it’s a really big deal for them.”

One of five state competitions annually, this weekend’s Minnesota Spring Games followed weeks of local and regional competitions and included the first-ever Special Olympics Minnesota Unified basketball tournament. In total, more than 1,500 athletes, 600 coaches and 500 volunteers were involved in the 2011 Special Olympics Minnesota Spring Games. Schools in Edina and Eden Prairie also hosted basketball and aquatic events as part of this weekend’s games.

Brandon Moe, 17, traveled from Duluth to compete in Saturday’s powerlifting events.  Moe’s coach, mother, grandmother and older sister also made the trip to Minnetonka.

While it was Moe’s first time at state, he was no underdog. Moe secured his chance to compete here after placing first and second in powerlifting events at a recent regional tournament. When it was Moe’s turn, he bench pressed an impressive 145 pounds.

And according to Moe, that made him feel “awesome.”