A blast of winter has hit the Town of Windsor, but it's not all Mother Nature. Organizers for Special Olympics Connecticut are hard at work getting the courses competition-ready for the winter games this weekend.
“Behind us I’ve got two 100-meter cross country ski tracks,” explained Eversource Program Administrator Andy Ouellette. “Right over here is going to be the snowshoe race. It’s a big oval. The far south end of the course is going to be the long course. It’s a 250-meter long course event.”
Close to 1,000 athletes will compete in events around the state, from skiing to skating and hockey. Gold medalist Sandy Stanislawski is competing for a fifth year.
“I like to be outdoors. I love everybody. All the athletes. All the coaches.”
“It gives them an outlet to have a really good coach, get out there and train,” said Special Olympics Connecticut President Beau Doherty.
Organizers say the signature event would not be possible without the 1,200 volunteers, who devote hundreds of hours to make sure it all comes together.
“You have hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, Eversource employees, retirees,” said Mitch Gross, of Eversource. “People from all walks of life come together, from all over the community. We all get together for one weekend after hours and hours of planning, and we enjoy the weekend.”
