Geat job Billy Sullivan and Erin Sullivan representing along with other members of the OHS Student Council playing with the Oxford United team at the Special Olympics today ! ...From Telegram By Jessica Kennedy, CORRESPONDENT Add a comment Students sitting behind the Grafton team start the wave in the Grafton High School gym Sunday during the unified bocce tournament. (T&G STAFF/CHRISTINE PETERSON) Enlarge photo GRAFTON — Booming cheers could be heard echoing across Worcester County on Sunday as students gathered along the sidelines of Grafton High Schools homemade bocce court. On Sunday, the Grafton High School gym was turned into a bocce court for the second annual unified bocce tournament, featuring teams composed of Special Olympics athletes and student council members from across the state. Renee Bailey, a student council advisor at Grafton High School, said this was Graftons first time hosting the event. Student Council and Special Olympics unified together to do a sporting event, she said. This is the second bocce tournament. Ms. Bailey said 200 Special Olympics athletes participated, along with 60 Student Council members, 16 parents and alumni, and 110 supporters who came out to cheer on the teams. She said about 20 towns were represented on 22 teams including Oxford, Westboro, Milford, and Quabog Regional. Student Council is trying to exemplify the idea of inclusion with Special Olympics, said Ms. Bailey. The turnout today is double than it was last year (in Greenfield). Ms. Bailey said she and the Student Council started putting the tournament together at the beginning of the year. Aside from bocce, the event included lunches, arts and crafts and prize tables. The Grafton High School foyer was decked out in flowered leis and wooden palm trees for the luau theme. Students went out into the community and got donations for today, including the decorations and raffle items, said Ms. Bailey. We even have a picture donated and autographed by Doug Flutie as a prize for one of the raffles. Jacqui Manning, a Grafton High School senior and the president of Massachusetts Association of Student Councils, said the school is proud of its efforts to make the tournament a success. You can see the difference the program makes, she said. It helps special education students come together and feel accepted in school events. Miss Manning, who played in last years tournament, helped coordinate this years teams alongside Patti Doherty, youth engagement and school manager for the Special Olympics. Ms. Doherty said each team consisted of four players: two athletes with intellectual disabilities and their partners from Student Councils. We have an incredible partnership, said Ms. Doherty. This is a fantastic event. The spirit and energy of the kids shows that they want to be here. On the sidelines, other members of MASC took pictures of the tournament to post on Instagram, sent tweets and fired up their Inclusion Revolution campaign. Miss Manning said Inclusion Revolution is a social media movement that the Student Council uses to promote Special Olympics events and news. She said the idea was inspired from a visit to the Special Olympics headquarters over the summer. Were making this our (MASC) service project, she said. We want to keep this going. Shannon Ryan, a senior at Marshfield High School and member of MASC, said the social media campaign is the most effective way to spread the word on the Special Olympics events. We have personal and organization-based Twitter accounts to post whats going on, she said. Going viral is one of the most important parts of our generation. On the bocce court, which was designed in the Grafton High gym, teams lined up at designated game times ready to play. Instead of the common hard plastic bocce balls, the teams used softer rubber balls. These bocce balls are more user friendly, said Shawn Langevin, one of the bocce coaches for the Grafton team. They have a better grip, especially for those who have issues with motor skills. Mr. Langevin said the bocce teams practiced at Grafton High School one day a week since the beginning of the school year. It was at practices that the teams started bonding, he said. The best part about these unified sports is the genuine friendships that develop between students, said Mr. Langevin, who is in his second year of coaching for these events. Its life-changing for a lot of these students. Ashley Marquis, a senior at Grafton High School, said playing on a unified sports team makes her feel connected with her teammates. Playing for the team changed me to understand my teammates better, she said. They grew on me. Deb Picard, a junior at Grafton High School, said she enjoys being part of a unified sports team, even if she has never played a certain sport before. I do all unified sports, she said. Whenever there is a new sport, Im there. Harrison Berkland, a senior at Walpole High School, could be heard shouting cheers to his teammates on the sideline. Im here because I love my town, he said. Today is a good way to bring friends together, especially people who wouldnt normally hang out. Berklands teammate, Eric Folan, said their competition was tough. Im here for the fun and games, he said. But theres a lot of pressure, seeing all the team go at it. Its competitive. Some of the fans in the stands, like Hopedale High School senior Camille Norris, came to the tournament to show support even though their school did not have a Special Olympics program or bocce team. Miss Norris said 12 people from Hopedale High School came out to cheer. We came here as a part of MASC, she said. We appreciate the opportunity to reach out. We dont have a team, but we still wanted to give back.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 01:27:34 +0000
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