For the Love of the Game
Recent news about rich parents gaming the system to get their offspring into the “right” colleges has spawned conversations about the state of things in America.
I, of course, have my two cents to add to the discussion, especially where sports are concerned.
Sports were one of the avenues to acceptance that the offenders employed to get their over-privileged darlings into elite schools- doctoring photos , generating fictitious resumes and bribing coaches. As if collegiate sports were not tainted enough already.
Which led me to ponder, is there any purity left in sports at all?
Money and politics run college sports- that we know. And even at the secondary level, for every high school athlete who shows even a modicum of promise, there is a parent- advocate pushing to position their child for a college scholarship.
And, sadly, even youngsters can’t play a stress free game without “encouragement” from the stands. At my home town Little League field, years ago officials moved the bleachers from behind home plate out to center field where shouted criticisms from parents were less disruptive.
So, is there any place where a game can be played simply for the joy of it?
I suggest that there is.
Special Olympics creates opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities. There are 12,000 in Connecticut alone competing year round in 28 different sports. They train to win, of course, but their focus is to do the best they can and enjoy the process. And part of Special Olympics is Unified Sports which partners Special Olympians with elementary, middle and high school students to train and play together in friendly competition.
And here’s another area where sports are played for the best of reasons. When and wherever everyday folks gather to play for someone else’s benefit. To me that is sport at its most noble, and the pages of sportingAcause.com are full of them.
Penguin Plunge
They abandoned all of their comfort and a bit of their dignity last Saturday when they jumped into cold water for a great cause. They were the intrepid souls who raised money for Special Olympics Connecticut at the Winsted Penguin Plunge at Highland Lake.
The event is billed as the largest grass roots fundraiser in the state for Special Olympics CT, and they proved it Saturday. The group raised nearly $80,000 for the charity which provides year round training and competitions for 12,000 Connecticut athletes with intellectual disabilities as well as Unified Sports which partners SO athletes with teammates without intellectual disabilities.
Now the real story at the Winsted Penguin Plunge was the number of young people involved. Groups from Torrington and Pomperaug High Schools as well as the elementary schools of Region 7, and the Boy Scouts from Troop 23 in Torrington plunged in full uniform.
All in all, kids made up over 25% of the total participants at the Plunge. And that’s not counting the hundreds, if not thousands of high schoolers who serve as partners in the Unified Sports program
I’ve written before about the significant role that our young people play in local charities , and I’ll surely be reporting about it again. Our young people don’t get enough credit for all they do.
Til next time
Willie
Bob Frink
Bob Frink passed way in the middle of February. I had only met him once, and from that moment wished that I had known him longer. I met him at the Canaan Country Club last August where he was hosting the 3rd Annual Ice Bucket Open Golf Tournament to raise money for the ALS Association, Connecticut Chapter which provides equipment, transportation, and general support to ALS patients and their families.
Bob sat in a motorized wheelchair. He could no longer speak, but he could smile, and I think smiling is about the bravest thing you can do when you have ALS.
ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or, more commonly, Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which means it robs the sufferer of muscular control starting with mobility and manual dexterity and eventually speech and the ability to breath. There is no cure, and it is always fatal. It stole those things from Bob, but it couldn’t rob his spirit, or the spirit of his wife Jeanine and their family. Much is asked of a family when a member has ALS.
Bob had served as greenskeeper at CCC for 27 years, so a golf tournament at the Club was a natural for a fundraiser. Well known and well loved, Bob’s friends organized the Open to raise money to help him out, but Bob decided the proceeds would go to ALS Association CT, the organization that has helped him and his family.
The tournament has raised over $70,000 for ALS research over its three year run. This year the Ice Bucket Open will be held August 10th in Bob’s honor.
HOUSY Girls’ Basketball
When was the last time you attended a high school sports game at your alma mater? If it has been a while, you may be pleasantly surprised to see folks you know in the stands and names you recognize on the court or field.
Those athletes with familiar names are likely the children or grand children of the people you went to high school with, and your bleacher mates are likely either your classmates or their offspring.
If you live in Region One here in Northwestern Connecticut, you have another good reason to catch a game. Tonight at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (Housy) the girls varsity basketball team begins its class S state tournament run against Ellis Tech.
The girls have had a season for the ages- they won the Berkshire League title as well as the BL tournament, ending their season 22-1, undefeated in league play. The last time that happened, the seniors on this team weren’t even born yet. Housy is among the smallest of the small schools in the BL yet they knocked off Northwestern and Lewis Mills- both Class M schools.
Cheering crowds mean a lot to these kids, so why not take a ride over to HVRHS this evening and support them on their quest for a state title. Their enthusiasm is contagious.
Game time is 6:00 pm.
Til next time
Willie
“Freezin for a Reason” Season
It’s “Freezin for a Reason” Season.
As the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen, so goes the old timers’ adage. We know that winter has a ways to go- it is still skiing, skating, basketball and now…cold water diving season.
Crazy folks throughout the world jump into frigid waters for all sorts of reasons- traditions, celebrations, rites of passage, supposed health benefits, but it is a particularly American trait to endure this kind of discomfort for charity.
But be careful what you call it. Both “Polar Plunge” and Polar Bear Plunge” have been trademarked by Special Olympics.
Three such events are coming up soon to a body of water near you in the sportingAcause Tri-state area.
The format is pretty much the same for all of them- entrants fundraise in the days and weeks before the event and bring a certain minimum amount to the event to qualify to plunge. Both teams and individuals are encouraged to participate.
On March 2nd, the Winsted Penguin Plunge, billed as the largest grass roots fundraiser for Special Olympics Connecticut, will be held at the Highland Lake Boat Launch in Winsted.
Then on March 30th and 31st, the Pittsfield 2019 Super Plunge and Polar Plunge will be held on Onota Lake at Burbank Park in Pittsfield. Now this event takes winter discomfort to a whole new level. In addition to the conventional plunge on March 31st, especially masochistic enthusiasts, who have raised a minimum of $1,000, have earned the right to plunge once an hour starting on March 30th for 24 consecutive hours. Their 24th and final plunge coincides with the one-timers. Now that’s dedication! This event supports Special Olympics Massachusetts.
On April 7th, the Spring Splash will be held at The Grove on Lakeville Lake in Lakeville, CT. This event supports two popular local causes- the Jane Lloyd Fund and the John Rice Scholarship Fund. I must note that 50% of the entrants for Spring Splash are high school students from area public and private schools. Way to go Kids!
By the way, you don’t have to submerge yourself in frigid waters to participate- go to one or more of these events and watch the fun from high ground. Donations are always appreciated.
By the time the Spring Splash wraps up, who knows, maybe we’ll be golfin!
Til next time.
Willie
Two Must-See Winter Events
If you live within sportingAcause’s territory – Pittsfield, MA down to Harwinton, CT and over to Poughkeepsie, NY, then you are pretty much a hour away from two amazing winter sports events within a 10 day span.
Beginning Thursday, Jan. 31st through Sunday, Feb. 3rd you can witness an honest-to-God curling Bonspiel at the Norfolk Curling Club in Norfolk, CT.
Then, four days later, Friday evening of Feb 8th through Sunday the 10th, you can see the equally amazing and exciting ski jumping during Jumpfest in downtown Salisbury, CT.
Curling first caught American attention several Winter Olympics ago when the sport inexplicably enjoyed a lopsided dose of TV coverage- what is this thing, curling?
Well you’ll have a chance to find out up close next weekend. You will be able to view the action in the comfort of the Norfolk Curling Club’s new state-of-the-art facility, as you snack and perhaps partake of a cocktail. And there will be many curlers nearby happy to answer any questions you have about the sport.
And it is free!
Now the following weekend you’ll get to see a different kind of winter sport- ski jumping at Jumpfest 2019 at the Satre Hill 65 meter tower in Salisbury sponsored by the Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA).
Now you may be saying “Yeah, yeah, I’ve watched ski jumping on TV – Olympics, Wide World of Sports…”
But listen closely – If you have not witnessed ski jumping live, you have not seen the sport.
These young athletes, some as young as 12, exit the tower’s take off at 50 miles an hour, travel upwards of 200 feet through the air and land, skis slapping on the landing hill right before your eyes. The crowds register their enthusiasm by cheering and ringing cowbells, and you will be one of them.
And another thing- jumpers you see up-close-and-personal in Salisbury will be in future Olympics- they are that good. Sunday will feature the Eastern U.S. Ski Jumping Championships. There will be plenty to eat, beverages from hot chocolate to hot toddies, with bonfires and lots of camaraderie.
Adult admission is $15 but children 12 and under get in free.
Get all of the details for both events here at sportingAcause.com.
So there you have it- two cures for the mid-winter blues.
Til next week, Willie
