Alexa Guessford | Staff Writer

Buena Vista University’s (BVU) Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the second annual Special Olympic event at Faith, Hope, and Charity in Storm Lake on Wednesday, May 1. The activities that took place included a bags game, Frisbee golf, field hockey, and a hand-eye coordination game using scarves.

SAAC is a national organization that has a long-standing connection with the Special Olympics. In collaboration with this event, SAAC upheld its mission for the event of “fostering a positive image of student-athletes within the community and giving children with special needs the same opportunities to participate in sports.”

Senior Kellyn Arnold is president of SAAC for the 2012-2013 year, and was in charge of organizing the activities for the event as well as the volunteers.

“This was one of our biggest events last year. I think it was incredibly important that I was involved in the entire process,” Arnold said.

The weather conditions on Wednesday prevented SAAC from having the event outdoors. The activities altered from what was originally planned. The main activity consisted of tossing scarves up into the air and then catching it; once with the right hand, once with the left, and once switching the hand it was released from to the hand that caught it. This worked on hand-eye coordination and reaction time. Although some of the games were geared for fine-motor development, having fun was the main focus.

“It was fun to just be there with the kids and watch them have a good time playing games,” sophomore SAAC member Steve Gutschenritter said.

Arnold said that getting creative was what she most enjoyed doing with participants.

“I really enjoyed coloring with the kids,” Arnold said.

SAAC is hoping to make this an annual event and continue its growth. Last year, SAAC had 20 students from Faith, Hope, and Charity participate, as well as 30 BVU student athlete volunteers. The committee’s goal was to have an even higher attendance this year. The turnout was similar with 30 Faith, Hope, and Charity students and 15 BVU SAAC volunteers joining together.

“Overall, the event was very successful,” Arnold said. “The volunteers adapted really well and learned a lot from the experience. Also, this was a good stepping stone for the future; we will take what we learned and evolve to make the event successful for years to come.”

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Photos by Tyson Domingo