Special Olympics Mississippi will be holding its state summer games at Biloxi’s Keesler Air Force Base in just a couple of weeks.
On Saturday, May 11, participants will showcase their talents in games including bowling, golf, corn hole, powerlifting, tennis, swimming, as well as track and field.
Monica Daniels, Special Olympics Mississippi President and CEO, says those competing in events will be paired up with newly recruited airmen and women at the base.
“We were under estimating individuals with intellectual disabilities. They’re competitive and they’re good,” Daniels said on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. “When they meet their airmen, it’s always interesting to watch the dynamic because I think the airmen and women assume, ‘Well I’m normal. This is going to be my job for the weekend,’ and they end up, by Sunday, learning so much.”
The athletes will check into a dorm room with a fellow participant at Keesler that Friday, May 10 and they will have autonomy over their space. Games will begin the next morning and a dance will follow the games on Saturday night.
Airmen and women paired with the competitors will be by their side throughout the entire weekend.
For more information on Special Olympics Mississippi’s state summer games, click here.
Watch the full interview below.
