Special Olympics: We need volunteers for state basketball tournament in Mitchell

Mar. 7—MITCHELL — Have some free time? Special Olympics South Dakota has an offer that may help you fill that void in your schedule while contributing to a good cause.

The organization is seeking volunteers for its annual state basketball tournament, which is coming to Mitchell March 23-24, with over 1,000 athletes, coaches and unified partners descending on multiple locations in the community to compete in basketball games and more.

It's easily one of the largest events Special Olympics South Dakota hosts during the year, Haley Zerr, sports director for the organization, told the Mitchell Republic.

"We have around 70 teams, and then we also have cheerleading and basketball skills, so we probably have roughly 1,050 people registered," Haley said. "I think this is probably our largest state basketball tournament that we've hosted."

The mission of Special Olympics South Dakota, a statewide nonprofit organization, is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community, according to the group website.

Participants involved with the program engage in sports of various kinds through the organization, including basketball, softball and its summer games event, which draws hundreds yearly for a variety of summer sport competitions.

And volunteers are a big part of making those events happen. They help fill the roles of referees, organizers and scorekeepers, among various other roles. That's why the group is reaching out to Mitchell-area residents to encourage them to give a little time and make the competition a reality.

"We are looking for scorekeepers, scorebook keepers, and we'd love to have a bunch of referees, especially for Sunday. Sunday is the big one for referees," Zerr said. "Volunteers are the backbone of Special Olympics South Dakota. Even our coaches and head coaches are volunteers for our teams across the state."

Anyone who has time to give during the two work shifts each day should consider volunteering, Zerr said. Special Olympics personnel will give volunteers a rundown of their roles and responsibilities, review the rules and how to handle technical tasks like operating the scoreboards when they arrive.

"We'll train the refs and the scoreboard operators and volunteers, explain the rules and what we expect to see," Zerr said.

In addition to the basketball tournament, there will also be a basketball skills challenge as well as cheerleading, which is being coordinated by the cheerleading squad from Dakota Wesleyan. Whatever a volunteer's interest or experience level, organizers should be able to find somewhere for them to contribute.

With organizers ready to train volunteers in the basics, there is no need to be experienced to volunteer. And while officiating a basketball game or being responsible for starting and stopping the clock in between plays sounds intimidating, Zerr said the jobs are far less stressful than volunteers may assume.

The crowds and participants at a Special Olympics event are much friendlier than those at some other sporting competitions. The events are more about the spirit of friendly competition than wins and losses, which creates a looser, happier atmosphere even during the most exciting of games.

"A lot of our volunteers always say they really enjoy volunteering and helping with the events. Many refs and umpires in softball say they're their favorite games to ref and umpire," Zerr said. "You get hugs and high fives running down the court. It's a different atmosphere."

The tournament will be held at a variety of sites, including Mitchell Middle School, Mitchell High School and Dakota Wesleyan University. Zerr said the Mitchell area has been an excellent host for their athletes when they come to town, noting the community has always turned out to support the organization.

She noted the new cheerleading program that is part of this year's tournament is a good example of that. Dakota Wesleyan athletes are often among the cadre of people who turn out to help make it an enjoyable experience for everyone. Along with groups like the local chamber of commerce and sports events and advisory committee, there has been plenty of support for Special Olympics.

The community has the facilities to host a tournament like this along with the positive attitude that comes from a smaller city.

"Mitchell is awesome to us. Dakota Wesleyan — they as a whole step up and provide a ton of college athlete volunteers for us. We can't thank them enough," Zerr said. "The smaller communities are better because if we host something in Sioux Falls we struggle to find volunteers. A smaller community rallies and shows appreciation that we're actually there and volunteers to help. It makes it more enjoyable knowing we'll show up and we'll have help."

The two days of the tournament are divided into shifts for which volunteers can sign up. The Saturday shift begins at 9:30 a.m. and runs until 1 p.m. The second Saturday shift starts at 12:30 p.m. and runs to 5 p.m.

Sunday's first shift begins at 7:45 a.m. and runs through 12 p.m. The second shift begins at 11:30 a.m. and continues until 4 p.m. There is a slight overlap of shifts both days to accommodate a quick round of training for volunteers just getting started during the afternoon shifts.

The event is also open to the public, and Zerr said the more people who show up to cheer on the athletes, the better. An event schedule with times and locations will be posted on the organization website at

www.sosd.org

prior to the start of the tournament.

Jill Kvanli, marketing manager for Special Olympics South Dakota, said a good number of volunteers have already begun signing up, which is encouraging and a testament to the Mitchell community spirit of volunteering.

But there is always room for more. Anyone interested in signing up to help can visit

statebasketball24.sosd.volunteerhub.com

to register. They can also contact the Special Olympics South Dakota office at 605-331-4117 for more information.

"Even just helping at the local level with these types of events, it helps us continue to provide an opportunity for athletes to compete in sports they love. Without volunteers, we wouldn't be able to do that," Kvanli said.

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