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Greylock Tigers Headed to Summer GamesBy Jen Thomas
iBerkshires Staff
06:45AM / Friday, May 30, 2008
NORTH ADAMS — In a little over two weeks, eight local athletes will travel to the Special Olympics Summer Games and they're looking for help to get there.
Coach Susanna Thomas and team parents will host a car wash and bake sale at the Stop & Shop Plaza on Route 2 this Saturday. The group will be offering up to 22 different kinds of "gifts in a jar" side by side with homebaked goods; car washes will be $5 a vehicle.
"A lot of people still don't know that North Adams has a team but we're asking people to come down and meet the team," said Thomas.
All funds will go toward supporting the Greylock Tigers, the city's Special Olympics team.
On Thursday, while handcrafting jars of recipes with names like "dreamsicle bars" and "vanilla and chocolate chip cookies," Thomas and parent and assistant coach Maggie Montgomery said they want to introduce the athletes to the community and get others excited about the upcoming Summer Games in Boston.
"They can have their car washed by very special athletes," said Montgomery, whose daughter Jenna, 14, will compete in the track and field events in the Games.
The Greylock Tigers were formed in 1999 by Thomas to accomodate one student. Now the team has grown to 15 athletes, aged 6 to 23 years, who compete in both winter and summer events. Jenna and Pittsfield athlete Jimmy Cowell, 23, (who trains with the Tigers in the summer to compete in track and field events) will participate in the 2009 World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho, next February.
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Jimmy Cowell and Jenna Montgomery find out they are going to the World Games.
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Both were selected to compete after they won gold medals in skiing at the state games earlier this year.
"All of the programs are free for the athletes but we have to fund raise to keep it free for them," said Montgomery.
Thomas and Montgomery estimated it would cost about $100 per athlete to go to the Boston Summer Games for the three-day event, not including the cost of food and extra expenses.
"If we raise more than what we need, we'll put whatever's left over into an account," said Thomas.
The Tigers are also raising money to purchase equipment for Jenna and Jimmy's trip and to pay the way for Thomas and Montgomery's trip to the Winter Games.
The eight athletes will compete in three events — either the 100- or 200-meter dash, the running long jump or the 4x100 relay. They qualified in a May 7 event at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington and are "absolutely thrilled" to have the chance to go to the Games.
"It's what they've been talking about since the Winter Games ended," said Montgomery.
The competition takes place at the Harvard University Athletic Complex and features special events like an opening ceremony, dinner and a dance.
"Boston does a really great job of welcoming the Special Olympics. They really get to experience a lot of different things," Montgomery said. "Our kids are going to Harvard. I can say I have a child who goes to Harvard every year."
When it comes to supporting the Greylock Tigers, Thomas and Montgomery have one priority — ensuring that the kids have a good time.
"We don't care about what color ribbon or medal they come with. We want to teach our athletes good sportsmanship," said Thomas.
And Jenna lives by the team's motto.
"Have fun and do your best," she said.
The car wash and bake sale will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
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