TERRE HAUTE —
The secret to Bocce is to “bend your knees and throw,” said 82-year-old Eldon Watts as he rolled a ball across the grass Saturday morning during the 43rd annual Special Olympics Summer Games on the campus of Indiana State University.
Watts is the oldest of a record 2,470 athletes plus an additional 168 unified partners (those without intellectual disabilities), from 68 Indiana counties, competing in the Summer Games, which conclude this afternoon with aquatics, bowling, Bocce, track and field and volleyball ending by 12:30 p.m.
Watts, the 2011 Area 7 Athlete of the Year and a member of the Happiness Bag Team, wore yellow sunglasses while watching others play, but took them off to concentrate on his throw. Red is his favorite color ball to roll.
He said he has played Bocce “a long time. I started when I was little.”
Bocce is one of the oldest games known to man. A painting of two boys playing a similar type of game was found in an Egyptian tomb dating to 5,200 B.C. At ISU, a yellow ball, called a pallino, was thrown into the middle of the court, measuring 10 to 13 feet wide and 76 to 100 feet long. Players then rolled different colored balls at the pallino to see who can get the closest.
The best advice, Watts said, for a good game in competition is “just play the game.”
The youngest athletes competing in the games are 8 years old, like Anderson Kiracofe of Brookville, located about 34 miles northwest of Cincinnati, Ohio. Kiracofe prefers his nickname of Carter.
Carter competed in a 400- and 800-meter run as well as a 4x100 relay. It is his first year competing in the Special Olympics Summer Games.
“It wore me out a lot to catch up,” Carter said after his 800-meter run. “I went as fast as I could on the last lap. I like the four-by-one relay because you don’t have to run that far and don’t have to run all around the track.”
He and his family are staying in Cromwell Hall at ISU. Carter said the college dorm “is the best hotel ever.” It could only be better “if it had a pool,” he said.
His mother, Kanita Sirbak, said she “has never seen [Carter] happier. Walking through opening ceremonies with all the players and everyone greeting him, he was just on cloud nine,” Sirbak said.
“I got a badge from one of the police officers,” Carter added.
“He likes the games just knowing he is accepted no matter how he is behaving,” his mother added. Sirbak has three children, two of which competed. Her oldest daughter, Kayla, 17, is a junior volunteer at the summer games. “The games have helped [Carter’s] social ability more than anything,” Kayla said.
There are about 1,700 volunteers that help with the Special Olympics. Russell Switzer of Montgomery County started 20 years ago as a volunteer, when his stepson, Justin Dugger, now 30, was competing in the Summer Games. This year Dugger is playing horseshoes.
Switzer has also served as a bowling coach, a county coordinator and this year is the manager of Olympic Town at ISU and is the state coordinator for the Athlete Leadership Programs for Special Olympics of Indiana. “We now have athletes that are helping us out” in the Summer Games, Switzer said.
Brian Gluck, 48, of Lafayette was a Special Olympics athlete who went through ALPs to coach.
“I always wanted to help with coaching for sports and always had people say, nope, you can’t do that, can’t teach others because I was an athlete and not a person without disabilities,” Gluck said.
“I didn’t think that was right,” Gluck said and joined ALPs. “I did a lot of teaching to prove people wrong, that it can be done,” he said. “The ALPs have trained more than 300 athletes in the last 10 years.”
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Winners: Eldon Watts and his teammate Tiffany Stadlberger were on the winning end of this round of bocce ball. The two were part of about 2,600 athletes competing in this year's Special Olympics.
-
Eldon Watts
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Winner: Eldon Watts is congratulated on his winning game of bocce ball. At 82, Watts is the oldest competitor in the Special Olympics this year.
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Veteran: Eldon Watts waits for teammates to take turns throwing in the bocce ball competition. The 82 year-old is the oldest Special Olympian at the Games this year.
Discussion
‘Play the Game'
Both newcomers and veterans turn out for Special Olympics Summer Games
- Local & Bistate
-
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
-
Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Is it regulation that doesn’t make sense or evening the playing field?
I’m not much of a drinker, so I haven’t spent much time thinking about how Indiana’s alcohol laws personally impact me, but that changed last fall when my daughter got married.
-
RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: April 29-May 3
The Vigo County Health Department inspected the following food establishments April 29-May 3:
-
For Piper: Annual ‘Rush the Punter’ event dedicated to Dixie Bee student who died Wednesday after a short illness
Steve Weatherford’s “Rush the Punter” fundraiser at Fairbanks Park on Saturday was dedicated to a little girl who lost her life unexpectedly to pneumonia.
-
Vigo schools prepare to tighten belts
State funding for the Vigo County School Corp. will remain “pretty flat” for the next two years, said Donna Wilson, chief financial officer.
-
Veterans take to the trees
Cristal Bednar took photos of her husband, Justin, as he laboriously climbed his way up a “Dangle-Duo” to get to a zipline at Indiana State University’s Sycamore Outdoor Center.
-
Property owner seeks halt to Hulman Lake dam project
A Terre Haute property owner is seeking an injunction that would at least temporarily halt the city’s work on the Hulman Lake dam project.
-
Tornado veterans balance preparedness, practicality
Few things in nature are less predictable than a tornado. They can form quickly. They strike weirdly, leveling one building while leaving its neighbor untouched. They can fling a car a half-mile and turn a piece of lumber into a wall-piercing missile.
-
ISU unveils interactive Bayh Family Legacy Wall at school
A who’s who of Indiana Democrats paid tribute to Evan Bayh and several generations of the Bayh family Friday during a dedication of a new interactive display at Indiana State University.
-
Can you smell me now?
A contraband cell phone has been discovered by the Vigo County Jail’s youngest and most unique officer.
-
GIVING BACK: Steve Weatherford buys shoes for kids day before charity run
Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford, punter for the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, showed once again his generosity Friday by donating new athletic shoes to more than two dozen Vigo County kids.
-
N.Y. Giants honor Weatherford as ‘Man of the Year’
Dan Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, remembers the first time he saw Steve Weatherford as a freshman at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
-
Sunday recital at The Woods
A recital featuring songs from well-known composers is at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
-
Police investigating rash of car window shootings
Terre Haute Police are investigating a rash of shootings that have shattered car windows throughout the city.
-
City hospitals get passing grades for patient safety
Two Terre Haute hospitals have been ranked for patient safety by an independent organization that assesses safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans.
-
Three from Operation Turn and Burn sentenced in federal court
Three co-conspirators in a Wabash Valley methamphetamine trafficking ring were sentenced this week to several years in federal prison.
-
Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn must decide if he will sign a measure allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes after the state Senate approved legislation today.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 17, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday, based on jail records.
-
I-70 resurfacing project will close westbound exit ramp
PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces the resurfacing project on Interstate 70 will close the westbound exit ramp at Indiana 243 beginning Wednesday May, 22 at about 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. that same day to mill and resurface the ramp.
-
UPDATE: Fire damages buildings in downtown Greencastle
GREENCASTLE, Ind. — Fire badly damaged several buildings today near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.
-
Get outside this Memorial Day weekend
Although DNR campgrounds and cabins at state parks, state reservoirs and recreation areas are booked to capacity for Memorial Day weekend, some shelters remain available for picnics and other day-use gatherings.
-
Skateboarders, BMX bike riders working to improve area of city park they use
The sound of small wheels rolling across smooth concrete fills the air, accented by the clacking noise of a wooden skateboard coming to an instant stop on a metal edge before rolling on again.
-
Indiana State to host 2014 MVC baseball tourney
Build it… and they will come. The Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana State University made that famous line from the movie “Fields Of Dreams” reality Thursday.
-
Overlay recommended for 812 area code
The state agency that represents Hoosier utility customers is calling for a ten-digit solution to southern Indiana’s vanishing supply of 812 area code telephone numbers.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional'
Raw: Tornadoes Spotted in Kansas
Today in History for May 20th
Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
Obama Exhorts Good Deeds by Morehouse Graduates
Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival
Today in History for May 19th
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
Couple Argues As Woman's Lover Crawls Out Window
RAW: Brad Paisley Forgets Lyrics To His Own Song
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Justin Bieber Gets Booed
New 'Anchorman 2' Trailer, Drake Joins List of Rumored Cameos
Eva Longoria's Wardrobe Malfunction
Heat Star Dwyane Wade Surprises Coral Gables Teen At Prom
Steak n' Shake waitress scores huge tip
Singer Miguel Accidentally Lands on Fan At Billboard Music Awards
Celebs Celebrate the Rise of the Side Butt
Grizzly bear gets up close and personal with camera
Justin Bieber Gets Booed After Winning at the Billboard Awards
Singer forgets lyrics, makes up words to National Anthem
Who is $600M Powerball winner in Fla.?
Top 5 Plays of the Day
Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony
Twiggy, the Waterskiing Squirrel
