Special Olympics bowling tournament a perfect strike

The inside of Harvest Moon Lanes was standing room only Saturday as cheers came from various lanes.

This was not a local league night, but the Special Olympics Montana Bowling Tournament.

Special Olympics Montana held their annual bowling tournament Saturday in Havre. This is the third year that the tournament has been held in Havre, said Jamie Wood, vice president of sports for Special Olympics Montana.

"Harvest Moon has been phenomenal to work with," Wood said, "we certainly hope they will allow us to come back for years to come. It's a beautiful alley. The athletes have a blast here. So we certainly hope that we can continue to host the tournament here in Havre."

The bowling tournament takes place in four different cities over the weekend: Havre, Butte, Billings and Big Fork. The field of teams is regionalized, meaning that teams come from the towns that surround the host city.

Teams from this year's tournament here came from Havre, Great Falls, Shelby, Conrad, Big Sandy and Cut Bank as well as other surrounding towns. The tournament had 130 athletes competing, which was about a 5 percent increase from last year, Wood said.

"I like to help my team and hope I can keep doing it," said Mitch Grubb of the Havre Blue Ponies. Grubb said bowling is one of his favorite sports along with golf.

Keeley Wilson, a teammate of Grubb's, has been participating since she was 8 years old. She said that competing was fun and it's something to do.

Andrea Schlimgen, also of the Havre Blue Ponies, has been competing in the Special Olympics since she was 8 years old.

"I like meeting all the new people," she said, "and it's awesome. It's fun."

The tournament began with a brief opening ceremony and then athletes began competing in the singles portion of the tournament.

The athletes were a mix of all different ages and ranged from veterans of the Special Olympics to first-year participants like Scott Theriault of the Great Falls Hornets. Theriault said that this was his first year and it felt good to be competing.

His teammates, Jamie Hughlette and Amie Bartell, were also sitting with him and waiting for their chance to bowl. Hughlette and Bartell added that they liked participating in the event because they get to see all their friends.

For Tracey Theriault, this was her first time at a Special Olympics event. She said she noticed how everyone seems to enjoy the event and likes how everyone supports one another.

Randy Place, another veteran at the tournament in Havre with the Great Falls Black Hornets, he said that he liked the thrill of competing.

Demiah Jackson of the Great Falls Lions said she participated in a similar event the past two years in Washington with great success and was looking to continue that success at the tournament.

Her mother, Katie Jackson, said that she likes the sense of community, adding that she brought her other son with her, and it was comforting to know that she could depend on the other team members to look after her son if she needed them to.

Once the athletes had finished their singles matches, they received their medals and sat with their teams to eat lunch before resuming the doubles and team portions of the event.

James Lowery, a four-year veteran for the Hornets Team Purple, said he likes to travel up to Havre to be able to bowl. Lowery took first place in the singles earlier.

Jenny Mazur, Lowery's teammate, was waiting for her doubles match to start when she added, "I like everything. My friends. Even my coaches. Everybody here are so open and welcoming, and I really appreciate that I get a chance to be doing the Special Olympics bowling."

Jen Imlay added that her favorite thing about the Special Olympics bowling is that "nothing ever gets old."

Wild Hornets' team member Nick Roberts said this was his second year competing in the event and that "I like that I can see all my friends here that I haven't seen in a long time and that I can compete and try to do my best."

Roberts won the bronze medal in his singles match in the morning.

As the tournament wound down and lane after lane grew darker, shouts and cheers could still be heard from pockets of supporters. The sound of medals clanging could be heard as athletes walked about with friends and family. Everyone seemed to have a smile on their face.

Wood said that watching the athletes compete was inspirational.

"It's a great way of creating inclusive communities which is what Special Olympics does," Wood said. "They're a part of the community just like everybody else."