By Caitlin Rodgers MSU EXPONENT
Skis, boots and snowshoes lined the Madison Base Area at Big Sky Resort early last Monday as music blasted through a speaker. Athletes raced past spectators, all chasing the same goal: to showcase that, regardless of where you start, anyone is capable of crossing the finish line.
On March 2, Big Sky hosted the 17th Annual Montana Big Sky Area Winter Games Competition. Organized by Special Olympics Montana, the day consisted of three events: snowshoeing, intermediate giant slalom and advanced giant slalom.
The morning kicked off with snowshoeing and time trials, followed by both slalom races after lunch. Dozens of volunteers jumped in to support the 44 athletes competing.
Sean Fitzgerald, a volunteer who has served as the winter games competition coordinator for the past 15 years, was largely responsible for overseeing Monday’s events.
“We have over 70 volunteers. That includes ski-with volunteers; we have about 35 of those folks. All the other ones are either administration, ribbons, awards, MC and then also the folks that run the competition,” Fitzgerald said.
Nine teams—all from Montana—competed in the games, with four representing Bozeman. These were the Bozeman Outreach Bobcats, the Bozeman Yetis, the Bozeman Flames and the Bozeman Jedis.
Many athletes chose to compete with a unified partner. This partner is a volunteer who trains and competes alongside the Olympian. Their individual times are added together for a final score, according to Fitzgerald.
“Unified is an interesting concept and it definitely needs to be celebrated,” Fitzgerald said.
Grant Clark, a unified athlete, competed for the Bozeman Yetis alongside his brother Jack Clark in the giant slalom.
“My brother has Down syndrome, so I’ve been a part of Special Olympics for eight or so years now,” Grant said. “More people should be volunteering, because it’s awesome.”
Thayne Pankratz, a unified teammate and friend of the brothers, echoed this sentiment. He emphasized the privilege of competing alongside the Olympians.
“Seeing how happy these guys get when they get a medal is just a really awesome feeling,” Pankratz said. “It’s really awesome to help them out, but also to show people that they’re not any different.”
Another notable Olympian was author Ruth Spinelli, who competed with the Bozeman Flames. Spinelli has been skiing for 12 years and competing in Special Olympics competitions since high school. She is the chief athlete advisor for the MSU Champions Club, MSU’s Special Olympics club.
“It was hard at school and I couldn’t get straight As,” Spinelli said. “So I was like, ‘Let’s do Special Olympics then.’”
In 2021, Spinelli published a book titled “Hearts and Souls with Special Olympics,” which aims to make Special Olympic stories heard. The book is available on Amazon.
“I did a survey of athletes, volunteers, coaches and parents. Then they gave it back to me and I wrote the book,” she said. “I’m working on a second one that’s about LETR. LETR stands for Law Enforcement Torch Run.”
Through LETR, local law enforcement assists Special Olympians in carrying the torch at opening ceremonies. This enables law enforcement to actively support the Special Olympics community, according to the Special Olympics website.
Spinelli competed with her unified partner, MSU junior Cecelia King. King became involved with the Special Olympics through Eagle Mount, a local organization that provides adaptive recreation and sports opportunities for people with disabilities and cancer, according to its website. She began volunteering with the foundation this year, which led her to meet Spinelli.
King emphasized the importance of the event for creating connection and celebrating all athletes.
“It’s important to the community because it’s a good way to bring everyone together, like athletes and participants, and it doesn’t matter who you are,” she said. “We can all do the same things and we’re all capable and strong.”
Not all athletes compete with a unified partner, however. Amy Wittman, a Belgrade Panther, held down the snowshoe race on her own.
Wittman has been competing in the Special Olympics since she was eight and this year marks her 20th season, as well as her second time competing in the snowshoe race.
“When I first started, I met my first coach during downhill skiing and then my mom jumped in and became the coach, and my dad,” Wittman said. “It became like a family. Everyone is really supportive, so they all jumped in.”
Emy Reznik, Big Sky’s grand experience and event specialist, was present for the entire day. She could be found smiling and cheering on the athletes as she worked to keep things on track.
“Definitely high energy. A lot of stoked faces both on and off the course,” Reznik said. “I’m helping Big Sky coordinate [the games], but I’ve actually been a volunteer at the Special Olympics in Colorado for many years. It’s very near and dear to my heart.”
The games were made possible by several sponsors including Big Sky Resort, which provided equipment, lift tickets, facilities and ski patrol. The Big Sky Ski Education Foundation—a nonprofit that provides ski lessons for children in several disciplines, according to its website—set up the courses.
“We are incredibly proud to host the Special Olympics of Montana for the 17th consecutive year, bringing together dozens of competitors and volunteers who fill our mountain with determination and joy,” said Tom Marshall, the general manager of Mountain Experience at Big Sky Resort.
“Through our work with Eagle Mount and Special Olympics Montana, we’re committed to making world-class snow sports accessible to everybody,” he said.
Bozeman’s Round House Ski and Sports Center provided rental equipment for the athletes and Lone Mountain Land Company—a real estate developer in Big Sky—provided food. Moonlight Community Foundation—the charitable arm of Big Sky’s Moonlight Community—gave out custom water bottles awarded to athletes at the end of the events.
Eagle Mount also contributed to making the day possible by pairing up athletes and coordinating volunteers, according to Fitzgerald.
In addition to the support from businesses and organizations, volunteers were crucial to making the day go smoothly. Bentley McCullough, this year’s Miss Rodeo Montana, was one of these volunteers.
McCullough—a rodeo athlete and American Sign Language-English interpreter—was awarded the title through the Miss Rodeo Montana Pageant. According to the organization’s website, she aims to use her time as Miss Rodeo Montana to promote accessibility and inclusion.
McCullough served as one of the MCs for the day, providing live commentary from Madison Base as the athletes competed.
“As part of my year as Miss Rodeo Montana, it is my utmost goal to serve everyone that I possibly can,” McCullough said. “I think that this is an amazing community of people that are right here, so I love being able to give back to my community.”
Spinelli encouraged others to consider volunteering for Special Olympic events.
“Coming to an event and volunteering, it gets you addicted to athletes like me,” Spinelli said. “Once you volunteer, you get addicted to it and it’ll change your life totally.”
The day wrapped up with an award ceremony celebrating all the athletes who competed in this year’s games.
“It is seriously the culmination of all this hard work, all these volunteers showing up,” Fitzgerald said. “And that’s what it’s all about. It’s all about the smiles. Today is just the greatest day.”
