Hearing the clanging of Olympic medals moving closer to the medical tent could mean only one thing—the area is about to get crowded. Athletes often stop by to be seen after their events, but not for scrapes or sunscreen slipping into their eyes.
“They love to show you their medals,” said Kathy Schniedwind, a retired Illinois State staff member who has been volunteering with Special Olympics for 42 years. “They just want to talk to you, hug you, or get a high-five. That’s the part I love.”
Appears InIllinois State University has been home to Illinois Special Olympics since 1977, when the state headquarters moved from Chicago’s Soldier Field to an office in University High School staffed by a single Illinois State employee. As the organization grew, it became independent of the University, changed to Special Olympics Illinois (SOILL), and in 1989 moved to a new state headquarters on Willow Street in Normal.
Throughout the changes, the University’s commitment to Special Olympics has remained strong. Illinois State hosts the organization’s two largest events, with staff from across campus pitching in to help the athletes and volunteer at the events. And SOILL is even led by a Redbird alum.
Dave Breen ’88, SOILL president and chief executive officer since 2011, arrived in Bloomington in 1998 as vice president of area management. He was about 5 when he met a neighbor with Down syndrome. Breen was afraid of the boy.
“My mom kind of grabbed me by the collar and said, ‘You need to be his friend. He wants the same things you want.’”
Those words never left him. When Breen came to Illinois State to major in recreation and park administration, he started volunteering with Special Olympics and has never stopped.
“I just had this need to give back. Some of those same guys are still competing after 30-some years. They just left a mark on me, their courage. They wake up most days happy. We spill coffee on ourselves, and it ruins our whole day.”
Anyone with intellectual disabilities who is at least 8 years old can compete in Special Olympics, and there is no age limit. One woman reluctantly quit competing in the shot put at age 92.
There are 13 state championship venues throughout the state, but the June summer games are the largest, followed by the Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament in March, both of which are held at Illinois State. In a typical year, nearly 4,200 athletes and 1,800 coaches participate in the summer games, along with about 2,200 volunteers and 3,000 family members. There is never a fee.
For the majority of athletes, being on campus is their only college experience, Breen said, and the University welcomes them like freshmen.
“ISU is a special place, it really is,” Breen said. “You feel welcomed here, like you’re a part of the University.”
The weekend of the summer games has become a mini move-in as athletes, coaches, and families stay in residence halls, said Ce-Ce Brookins, assistant director for summer conferences. Staff gear up like they do for students’ arrival in August.
“We want to make sure they’re getting the same experience our students get in the fall,” Brookins said. “It’s definitely a privilege for us to work with this group.”
Staff decorate hall floors, offer programming during rainouts, and bring out the snow cone machine. But it’s the conversations with the athletes that are the most valuable.
“It definitely does pay off to have that one conversation with an athlete who is so excited because they got to compete and may have placed or set a personal record,” Brookins said.
Athletes compete in six events at the summer games: track and field, aquatics, gymnastics, bocce, soccer, and weightlifting. Illinois State head football coach Brock Spack and his players set up the weight room, and spot and encourage the competitors in that last event.
“The commitment from the families has always been really impressive to me,” Spack said. “It’s good for our players to see what real love means. It’s not the fact you’re a superstar. It’s the fact you’re competing. They just want to have fun. It’s very humbling for our guys. It’s a way for them to give back to the community, but more importantly it’s good for them. They’re very, very fortunate to be able to do what they do.”
Redbird football snapper Joey Malinowski ’21 volunteered for his fourth year. He slid weights on and off and spotted the athletes—who ranged in age from teenagers to adults in their 40s—as they did deadlifts, squats, and bench presses. One athlete lifted 405 pounds.
“It’s awesome,” Malinowski said. “You see someone hit their personal best, and they’re screaming and jumping up and down. They’re so excited, and we’re excited for them. You just want to see them succeed.”
Leanna Bordner, senior deputy director of Athletics, has been active with Special Olympics since she came to the University in 1993.
“When I first got here, I was pretty much told that Special Olympics was a part of Illinois State,” Bordner said. “I knew right away how important it was. Our entire staff takes pride in making sure that the Special Olympics experience for the participants and their families is top-notch.”
The summer games are the biggest event of the year for Adam Southwick, Field House Facilities supervisor. After drawing diagrams for the venues, his crew sets out to paint bocce courts in the outfield at Duffy Bass Field, line soccer fields, and set up for opening ceremonies.
“It’s a different atmosphere with Special Olympics,” he said. “They’re so appreciative. It’s just always cool to see how everybody comes together and gets it done.”
Athletics is just one of many units from across campus to assist with the summer games. Clinicians and students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders conducted hearing screenings for 180 athletes this year, and Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality (EMDH) served more than 7,000 meals at Linkins Dining Center and the Bone Student Center.
“The athletes are always in such high spirits. Our staff loves interacting with them and hearing their success stories that go along with the medals they’re wearing.”
— Jennifer Brandel
“Special Olympics weekend is our favorite weekend of the year,” said Jennifer Brandel, associate director in EMDH. “The athletes are always in such high spirits. Our staff loves interacting with them and hearing their success stories that go along with the medals they’re wearing.”
Illinois State’s Facilities unit plays an important role in coordinating venues. When Chuck Scott, M.S. ’97, was a new employee in Grounds in 1986, he received a call from Athletics saying he might need to put some extra trash barrels out for a weekend event. When he asked how many they would need, he was told organizers were expecting about 10,000 people. Scott stopped by the games to see how things were going and fell in love with the event. “I started talking with the families, the athletes, the volunteers, and the Special Olympics staff, and I was hooked.”
“Hooked” is a word several Illinois State staffers used when describing their first experience with Special Olympics. Scott took vacation the next year so he could volunteer, and for about 20 years was in charge of the long jump, raking, measuring, and giving those sought-after hugs. By 2011, the retired associate vice president of Facilities was chair of the Special Olympics Illinois board of directors, overseeing the building of the state headquarters, along with its Tribute Park.
“These are lifelong friends and relationships,” Scott said. Schniedwind, who retired from Illinois State in 2006 as head athletic trainer, coordinated medical coverage for SOILL for more than two decades and is vice chair of the Special Olympics Illinois board of directors.
The summer games’ opening ceremonies are held in Hancock Stadium, highlighted by the Special Olympics Torch Run. Nearly 3,000 law enforcement officers from throughout the state run 22 legs that end with a parade of athletes walking into Hancock.
Although Schniedwind has watched the run for nearly 30 years, it makes her emotional every time.
“Being a part of the celebrations for Special Olympics is just as important to me as celebrating a Redbird victory, just as meaningful,” she said. “I’ve seen more than once on the track an athlete falls, and another athlete stops to help that athlete up. You don’t see that except in Special Olympics. There’s a lot they can teach us.”
