Special Olympics bowling wraps up season with strong tournament showing
Photo courtesy of DARELL BRAATEN Silver Valley Special Olympics bowling team and coaches (back row from left): Justin Argiro, Wanda Stout, Steven McMahon, Ann Beck, Gina Roos and Darell Braaten. Middle: Freya Ulfeng, DiAnna Macklin and Sonja Ulfeng. Front: Andrea Mousseau, April Cason, Joanne Coast and Matthew Bottman.
SANDPOINT — Weeks of practice paid off last weekend for the bowlers of the Silver Valley Special Olympics team as many of them came home from the North Idaho tournament with blue ribbons.
Held on Saturday at Huckleberry Lanes in Sandpoint, the regional Special Olympics bowling tournament hosted roughly 300 bowlers from all over the panhandle to compete and have some fun.
All said and done, the Silver Valley team fared quite well for going up against teams from much larger cities.
“Out of the eight (bowlers) that competed, there were three that won first place, two — second place, two — third place and a fourth place,” said Darell Braaten, team coach.
Players at this tournament were matched up with their opponents based on their season averages. At week six in the season, average scores from each team are sent to Boise. Special Olympics organizers then take those scores and set the match-ups.
The Silver Valley eight-person team began their season in late-September/early-October and all of their practices were held at the Mullan bowling alley.
The small, but well-maintained, alley in Mullan opened their doors to the team and let them bowl for free for their entire season.
In the past, the team has had double the bowlers it currently has, but Braaten is hopeful that he will see a renewed increase in participation in the coming years.
It also doesn’t hurt that many of the bowlers aren’t just bowlers and stay active year-round by participating in other events. With the range of activities the Special Olympics program provides, it isn’t uncommon to see multi-sport athletes.
“We just finished up the bowling, so now they’ll be moving to skiing. There’s both winter and summer events,” Bratten said.
With his first year in the books, Braaten is looking forward to coaching the team next year and was pleased with his team overall.
“The athletes were spectacular. They did wonderful at both the tournament and at practices,” he said.
With the goal of growing the program even more, Silver Valley Special Olympics local program coordinator DiAnna Macklin invites potential athletes to reach out and join a team. Macklin is also looking for volunteers to help with the more administrative side of the program as well.
If you or someone you know would like to be apart of the program, either as an athlete or volunteer, contact Macklin at 208-699-2544 or visit idso.org.