Area Athletes Compete in Special Olympics mmer Games

By Misty Cryer

Carlsbad Special Olympics hosted the Special Olympics NM Area IV Summer Games on May 3. Athletes gathered at the Ralph Bowyer Stadium at Carlsbad High School to compete in preparation for the Special Olympics NM State Games.

In opening ceremonies, Carolyn Olson, former NM Area IV Coordinator for Special Olympics, was honored for her years of service to the organization and area athletes.

Patrick and Lee Kirksey of Lea County are now the NM Area IV Coordinators for Special Olympics. Lee said Special Olympics began in New Mexico in 1970. She said Carolyn has been involved in the organization since its inception and has served as the NM Area IV Coordinator for decades.

“She retired right at the end of 2024. My husband and I started in January,” she said.

Special Olympics programs are open to athletes eight years old and up who have intellectual or developmental disabilities, said Lee.

“Our Area IV is the southeastern corner of the state,” said Lee, explaining that the cities involved include Clovis, Artesia, Carlsbad, Roswell, Hobbs, Lovington, and Eunice, with a program developing in Ruidoso.

Saturday’s event included a track meet, bocce games, and flag football. “The athletes will either run, walk, or wheel their wheelchairs. We have all sorts of different distances, from 10 meters to 3,000 meters. We have all sorts of throwing events. It’s amazing how far some of these athletes can throw,” said Lee.

Explaining what bocce is, Lee said, “I tell people to think of it as lawn bowling. It is played out on the grass on a court about 60 feet by 12 feet. The athletes throw a small white ball called a pallina. Each partner or athlete has a couple of larger balls that they roll, and the goal is to get as close as possible to the pallina or to knock other people away from the pallina. You get points for whichever balls are the closest.” She added that the game is played to 12 points.

“Each athlete can pick two track events and a relay, or they can compete in bocce, or they can compete in flag football,” said Lee. “We hand out blue, red, and yellow ribbons for first, second, and third place. When they go to the State Summer Games in Albuquerque, they can receive gold, silver, and bronze medals in their different divisions,” she said.

“We have our area games as the qualifying event for the athletes then going on to the State Summer Games in Albuquerque at the very end of May,” said Lee. She said 156 athletes participated in the area event with 28 unified partners.

“In some of our sports, athletes have partners, who are people without disabilities, to compete on the same teams with them,” Lee said.

“We got started about 11 years ago,” said Lee. “Our son, Nate, is autistic and has epilepsy. He had participated in regular sports teams for a while, but they just weren’t a good fit for him anymore. We went looking for something that would fit him better, and we found Special Olympics.”

Nate wanted to run track, said Lee, but there wasn’t a track team in Lea County. “They told us, if you find the track coach, you can start a track program, so Patrick and I learned track. We coach track, basketball, bocce, cornhole, and we’re adding swimming this year,” she said. She explained that the sports available in different areas vary, with many choices, such as flag football, volleyball, softball, and poly hockey.

“We really want to thank all of the volunteers in Carlsbad who are helping us do this. Without them, it would not be possible,” said Lee. “We had more than 50 volunteers from the community. I don’t believe we’ve ever had that many before. They made the day run smoothly, and they were so encouraging of the athletes,” she said.