Calling all Champions

0:00I'm going to have to go to the next one. Sledgehammer. Eric Johnson. Thank you very much. My name is Joe Deutsch. I'm hosting afternoons live today because Tyler Axis is on a fishing trip. I was asked to fill in my birthday and I couldn't be more excited to have this opportunity. As Eric pointed out, I'm finally relaxed and settled into the sea a little bit. I am going to share my experience with you. I will be standing next to you. I will be standing next to you. I will be standing next to you. This is my subject that is absolutely the nearest and dearest to my heart. Special Olympics of North Dakota. I grew up with a, as a lot of you know with a, with a, with a brother, Tommy who adds special needs. And we learn to the young age that. You know, it's, it's bigger than bigger than you individually. to work the finish line and we have been there as a family for every year since then for the last 35 years.

1:04And nothing feeds the soul more than being at the finish line and crowning a state champion and celebrating with everybody the fact that they trained all season and finished with their moment at the finish line. I'm also wearing my outfit today, it says calling all champions. I decided to fly the colors for Special Olympics North Dakota. I had the privilege of going to the US Games in Minneapolis this summer and seeing our Special Olympics North Dakota athletes in action. Full disclosure, I serve on the on the state board. And so today I was lucky enough to be joined by the CEO of Special Olympics North Dakota Nancy Hansen. Nancy, thank you for coming on the program with us today. Well, thanks for having me. I'm so excited. Gosh, what would an honor to celebrate your birthday on the air. Yeah, and I mean, especially as busy as you are right now, I'm fairly certain that we have state volleyball or state Batchee and soccer going on coming up tomorrow. Is that right?

2:09Actually, next weekend, so one week to prepare. Yeah, we've got over 500 that will be competing on Saturday and the same on Sunday. So we're gearing up for big numbers and can't wait to see all those rallying faces again. Well, and I get too excited and think it's probably coming because I'm getting texts and emails from you as a board member about all the work that goes into setting all this up because because it really is amazing. I mean, you have your, you know, you could kind of tell us a little bit about it, but you have your, you know, you have a season that starts and we, and you have coaches and, and then you transition into your regional tournament, right? And then once the regional tournament, so then we then you turn your focus to state. So you want to talk a little bit about about that and how this Batchee soccer season has unfolded. Absolutely. So, you know, many people are familiar with high school activities, association and sports that happen within the schools. And special indexes no different. So we are teams practice eight to 10 weeks prior to competing at

3:16state. So it is very, very similar to what you see in a high school sport. They practice. Then we have a regional tournament. And then from there, that just helps us with feeding for people that that come to state. And right now for this particular tournament, everyone that compete is allowed to come to the event. So we've got, we've got big groups. And we're, we're trying to get everything ready and prepared for them to converge and ground for next weekend. How many athletes are we talking about that will be participating between the two state tournaments? So we have about 520 on Saturday and we have about 560 on Sunday. Wow. Pretty, pretty big. Wow. And that's, I mean, that's a lot of referees and coaches and sack lunches to put together and, and, you know, and a lot of, a lot of work and a lot of preparation that goes into doing those things. It is, you know, that we only have,

4:18there's only six total paid individuals that work for special Olympics in North Dakota. And the rest are all volunteers. So people give out of the kindness of their heart, whether they are going to comment, help us the day of, or whether they are going to be a coach and give their time each week to be able to hold practices, et cetera, to prepare the athletes for their competition. So we couldn't do it without the hundreds and hundreds of volunteers that we need in our local communities where we host the state tournaments, as well as across the state and their local communities to be able to have a program for the athletes to get out and socialize with friends, get a little activity. We want them to be healthy. So yes, we are focused on sport, but we want to focus on the whole person. So there's a lot more to special Olympics that maybe people just aren't aware of that we're sports, we're health, we are in schools, and we really make a difference in

5:23multiple facets of some of life. Yeah, I think that's really important to point out. As I said, at the top of the segment, I'm wearing my calling all champions shirt, which is a theme of special Olympics. And you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming what that means is that calling all champions is everybody who dedicates themselves to being a part of a season, competing at the end and finishing is a champion, right? Because they've set a goal for themselves, they've persevered through some days that they maybe didn't feel like going to practice or injury or any different things. Any different challenges that could come up to them, and it would be very easy sometimes for them to say, move on. But the champions are the ones that are there at the end, regardless of how they're placing. Absolutely. So, and as you said, some, they're just happy to make it to state, right? And be able to be there, and a lot of them,

6:27sure they're there to compete, and we want them to be there for that. And if they score a point in Batchee, or they score a goal in soccer, they are ecstatic. And so for us, we might not think that that's a big deal. But for our athletes, for some of them, that's what they're there for. And it's just those small incremental steps that we increase their ability, we increase their skill level. And now it just keeps growing and growing and growing. So just as we, when we're younger, we figured out how we can walk and we figured out how we can run. Maybe we have to learn how to skip again when we get older, right? And that's the same for athletes. So we want to make sure that we are giving them the tools that they can feel comfortable with. And we meet them at where they are. So whatever their ability level, we meet them there. Right. Right. As a state, we focus on giving every opportunity for everybody to participate number one and to do the best that they

7:31possibly can. And then, you know, for some of them, is it every four years, right? Is that when you go to the US games? Okay. For some of them, they get times or scores that, you know, that would warrant them to go on to compete at the US games level. And so I feel like it's a twofold process. I mean, we're definitely trying to help athletes attain the highest level they can. But at the same time, some people's highest level is just making it to the finish line, so to speak. So tell me a little bit about this summer, because I got a chance to go down. I got to watch the opening ceremonies with the torch run in at the Gofer Stadium. And just tell me a little bit about you guys were there for 10 days, like you, all these athletes and coaches and athletic trainers and staff and just kind of tell me about what an awesome experience that was to bring so many athletes for once, because you're able to get on a bus, right? We did. We felt we filled the bus. So this year, we had a delegation or a group of 46. We were all together for 10 solid days. And 24, 7.

8:42We stayed in dorms all together. And we had athletes going in a few different sports. We brought a basketball team. And I remember the basketball players when they were chosen, they said, we're going to go and we're going to bring home a gold medal. And I said, you know what? I would just be happy you as making it there. And you have a good time and you compete well. If it doesn't happen to be a gold medal, that's okay. And they're like, nope, we're going to do it. And sure enough, they came home with a gold medal. And those medals are huge. I know. I got a chance to have them. I mean, to touch one of them. They all, of course, put them into their mouth and bit them to show me that they were real gold or whatever. But so anyway, I appreciate that. I mean, what an awesome experience I get to be out there. And it was on the campus at GoFers. So you were able to have most of your events right there on campus. So we're up against the break, but we're good. If you stick around, I want to talk about two things. Number one, I want to talk about

9:46volunteering. And I want to talk about how people can get an opportunity to volunteer. And and then we'll talk about a few other things after that. So Nancy Hansen, Special Olympics, North Dakota, here with us on KFGO. I'm Joe Doich sitting in for Tyler Axonis and Eric Johnson's producer. And we're going to see you right after the break. Welcome back to Afternoons live. I'm Joe Doich filling in for Tyler Axonis. I got Eric Johnson still running the engine and we're not off the rails yet. So we're just going to continue on. I have joined right now. I've spent some time already with, but I'm, but I'm honored and proud to have the executive director of Special Olympics, North Dakota, Nancy Hansen with me. And Nancy, thank you for, for, for joining me again. We talked a lot about, you know, the, which, what, the process of the athletes having a season and and the regionals in the state and then ultimately potentially getting to go to the US games someday.

10:52We said before, you know, these, these athletes are participating for various different reasons. Some of them are for entertainment. Some of them are for, you know, setting goals and attaining them and some of them are for trying to, you know, to win, to win. But the biggest joy that I think anybody can ever experience is, is the pure innocence and joy of a Special Olympics athlete and their appreciation for, for anybody's involvement. Is that fair statement? Oh my gosh, yes, absolutely. You know, I, I, I, like I said, been with my family at the finish line in some capacity for the last 35 years at the state track meeting. And for those who are out there, true, no, a traditional track meet, you know, you have heats and whatever else and it gets the finals. We just, we put people by age and, and, and, and skill level and whatever into into one heat and down the, down the path they

11:53go and when they cross the finish line, those are, those are the medals that are coming out. So I'm, I'm celebrating the person who comes across first telling them they're a state champion and a gold medalist and just the, the hugs and the, and the joy and, and, and, and, and, and honestly, the, the, what's even more exciting is seeing their families, seeing them being celebrated and seeing them, their culmination of, of, of setting a goal for themselves and getting there. Can you talk a little bit about that? Absolutely. So, you know, as you were talking, I was thinking specifically last year. So, well, not last year in May, we had a group from Newtown that was new and they came to our state tournament and we had new families there. And I won't forget, I was at the finish line with you and saw the heat coming down the track. They got done it and I was watching up parents and they were watching their loved one come down and they were excited and they were

12:55cheering and the minute they're loved one crossed the finish line. I kept, I looked up to see what they thought and all of a sudden I see tears and it's tears of joy because this is, this is something that many folks dream of for their children, right? They want them to be included. They want them to have the experience. They want them to be able to do something and, and receive kind of some of that recognition and award for the hard work that they do. And so I went up to the family and I said, I just want to make sure that you're okay. Like, is everything all right? And they said, oh my gosh, this was so wonderful. We have dreamt of this forever and I wish I would have gotten my son in a little bit sooner. I said, you know what? It's okay. He's here now. So look at all the years that he has left. And so they were just excited to hear that and to be able to celebrate him and all the things that he did that day. So there's story after story after story of things like

13:57that. Yeah. Places where, you know, we touch their heart and that's what it is. And if you want to see true sportsmanship, you come to our events because as you know, people, people stand at the finish line. So they cross and then they wait for their friends to cross. Some of them try to go go get their teammates and try to help them to get to get through better. Yeah, 100%. I mean, it's, you're right. It's not just sportsmanship. It's, it's, it's camaraderie. It's, it's, they're true teammates. No doubt about it. Well, you know, I, I, I love to support the, the student, the Special Olympics athletes. They come to our Belosio Wrestling shows and they support me and and likewise I turn around and support them. We haven't got a chance at the summer games to do a BZW Wrestling show for the athletes between the first two days, which is, which is awesome. But Nancy, I'm, I'm running out of time here, but I just want to give you an opportunity to tell people

14:59how do they get involved? Everybody says to me, Joe, how do I get involved in Special Olympics? So give them, give them the socials, give them the web address, give them something to get people volunteering for Special Olympics of North Dakota. Absolutely. Our website is Special Olympics ND like North Dakota dot org. So Special Olympics ND dot org. You can find us on Facebook and Instagram just under Special Olympics, North Dakota. Some, you'll find some Facebook accounts with a a city after it. So if you want to follow within your local city, there are Facebook pages for your local city or to follow us in the, from the state perspective, just Special Olympics, North Dakota. Okay, we need, we need lots of volunteers, right? Nancy, I mean, that's the most important thing. Lots of volunteers. So don't be afraid to reach out through those socials and get them. Thank you very much, Nancy, for coming on today. Good luck putting on that state, Bachi tournament and soccer

16:00next week up in Grand Forks. I'm super excited for the athletes and super excited to be a part of Special Olympics, North Dakota. So thank you so much for having me and thank you so much for being a guest today. I'm Joe Deutsch. This is afternoon's live, filling in for Tyler Axis today. We'll see you after the top of the hour break.