On Wednesday, February 4, Bolivar High School hosted a Special Olympics basketball game pitting the students and alumni of the Bolivar school district against those of the Skyline school district.

The contest consisted of two events: a skills challenge and a half-court basketball game. The stadium was packed with people from both school districts, due in large part to the five buses full of students and faculty Skyline sent on the 40-minute trek. Bolivar took home the victory, but for the athletes and everyone else involved, the experience was less about winners and losers and more about the relationships formed by the Special Olympics.

Jacob Books, a participant on Bolivar’s Special Olympics team and senior at Bolivar High School, described meeting people and making friends as his favorite part about the event. “I made a couple of friends in Nevada, actually, on the Nevada Special Olympics team, and they are wonderful people,” Books stated, referring to a past Special Olympics event. He continued, “I have made friends with younger students. I have made friends with people over 50–all types of backgrounds, all types of people.” 

However, the Special Olympics does more than simply provide athletes with friendships; it gives them a community of people who cheer for and support them. Sherry Rice, special education teacher at Bolivar High School and Special Olympics head coach, touched on this when she said, “I think this program in general is something that has been really great for all of [the athletes], especially the ones who have already graduated…I think that it means inclusion for a lot of these kids, and they feel included and loved.”

This is Bolivar’s 10th year in the Special Olympics program, and Rice has enjoyed seeing how much the athletes have grown throughout the program’s duration. As much as Rice has contributed to the development of her students, however, she claims they have impacted her more. “They teach me that there’s so much joy in life, and it’s really easy to look at the world that we live in and see a lot of negative. There’s a lot of positive that they show me and a lot of joy”.

For Books, his joy comes from the experience and the friendships and support he has received in the process. Above all, he wants to remind people that “these kids are trying their hardest and if they don’t make it, still cheer them on. They try their best. All of us are trying our best, and we’re just here for a fun time.”