Courage and perseverance, against the odds

On Saturday evening Mike and I were privileged to be guests at the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics GB Leicester 2009. It is the second time that these very special Games have been hosted by our home town Leicester and we, as a city and county, feel very honoured to be staging this event again. The last time the games were hosted here was in 1989 and it is the first time the games have been hosted twice by the same city, so ‘well done Leicester’ for that.

But this event is not about where the games are held. It is about the 2,700 athletes with learning disabilities who have been encouraged, developed, trained, and motivated to participate in this experience of a lifetime. There are 21 sports from badminton and basketball to swimming and sailing, supported by 1500 volunteers. It is a phenomenal challenge for everyone involved.

For the rest of us we take being healthy and able-bodied so much for granted. We have our legs and arms, sight, hearing, speech and don’t even consider what life would be like without them. We don’t even think about how we put on our shoes or clean our teeth, talk to each other and move about. But for anyone with cerebral palsy or Down syndrome, or any of many types of learning difficulty, all of these simple tasks are difficult and for some, impossible.

So, when these very special athletes walked, or were wheeled, into the Walkers Stadium to be cheered and applauded by a 23,000-strong crowd, they indeed felt very special. For once in their lives these individuals felt very important. The experience must have been awesome. None of us can imagine the effort that will have gone into the training that they will all have undertaken on the journey to reach this point. The patience and encouragement given by their coaches will have been amazing. The families of the athletes will have supported and encouraged them. They will have made sacrifices but now, hopefully, they will feel that having arrived here, with their son or daughter to be participating in this amazing event, it was well worth every minute of effort.

As the athletes paraded around the arena they moved to their seats but that in itself presented another challenge. Endeavouring to seat 2,700 disabled people took time and needed patience from everyone. It was gladly given. Once seated they clapped and cheered all their fellow comrades with even greater energy than the rest of us, as each team from all over Great Britain arrived into the stadium. I have no doubt that they will have slept very well that night!

As I sat watching the evening unfold, I realised that this amazing event was extraordinary. Not only did it empower and reward the athletes for being talented in their particular sport, but they could be among newly-made friends who were just like them. During this seven days they wouldn’t be the ones who were a bit different. They won’t be the only one that perhaps was a little slower. Now they were among folk who understood them – their coaches, their friends. They will feel ‘normal’, not ‘different’ this week. And the icing on the cake will be the fact that they will be making their families very, very proud.

On Wednesday I have been given the enormous privilege of presenting the medals at the Gymnastics championships. I can’t wait to see the event and meet competitors and the medallists. The Special Olympic Oath reads: Let me win but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. An oath that says it all.

For the rest of us, as we get up this morning and go about our usual daily tasks, perhaps we should pause for a moment and appreciate that our bodies allow us to rush around and not be dependent upon others. If you are starting your diet this morning, realise what an easy task that is compared to the efforts of others not so fortunate. We really should not make excuses for the way we live our lives but be thankful that we have choices and that we are able to make them ourselves.