After spending at least seven hours in the gymnasiums and commons at Seymour High School on Saturday, members of the Seymour Noon Lions Club were exhausted.
This was the 40th year for the club’s Special Olympics basketball tournament, which consisted of 12 five-on-five teams, 17 three-on-three teams and 30 individual skills participants from 11 different southern Indiana counties. In all, there were around 280 athletes and coaches.
Plus, their family members, friends, caregivers and supporters and other community members were there to watch the games.
In the end, even though it was a long day, everyone was a winner.
The club considered the event a success because all players and coaches received a special 40th anniversary medallion and also won a ribbon or trophy from their games.
Everyone involved, from the players to the coaches to the volunteers to the spectators, took away special memories from the day.
“I had probably 20 athletes and parents thank me and the Lions today for doing this,” Lion John Jennings said. “It’s the smiling faces.”
For other club members, it’s special to see what goes on during the games.
“It feels so wonderful when they make their basket,” Lion Rosy Jennings said. “You would think it’s going for the Olympic gold when they made their basket. They are so excited, and you can’t help but just feel their joy.”
There’s a lot of teamwork, camaraderie and sportsmanship, too.
“All of these teams, they’re appreciative, they don’t get upset, they help each other up,” Lion Clint Payton said.
“A lot of the players from other teams know players from opposing teams. They congratulate each other and say, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ It’s a real nice time for them,” Lion Fred Moritz said.
Lion Doug Ray said he has been involved so long that he sees the same athletes from year to year, and the players tell each other they will see them at other upcoming tournaments leading up to the state tournament in March.
“They’ll go up there and they’ll see each other there,” he said. “The more we do it, the more I’m seeing people that are repeating. There are some older fellas, you start seeing people you recognize.”
Each summer, Ray takes on the role of securing the location and insurance for the tournament. Depending on availability, games take place at Seymour High School or at Seymour Middle School and the Boys and Girls Club of Seymour.
Then around the start of October, Payton begins sending information about the tournament to county Special Olympics programs. For the nearly 25 years he has been involved, Payton said the tournament has been on the first Saturday of January. In the past, it was later in January. And a few years ago, it was moved to March due to an early January snowstorm.
“I send out an email to all of the past participants and let them know we’ve got the tournament coming,” he said. “Most of the people that come know.”
Payton said they like the tournament because there is no entry fee, and spectators like it, too, because there’s no admission charge.
“We provide (players and coaches) with lunch, and everybody that comes every year is just happy because it doesn’t cost anything,” he said. “Most of the other places, they have entry fees.”
Each team gets to play two games, which is the number Special Olympics Indiana requires for teams to be eligible to compete in the postseason.
“I always try to get them to play teams that they normally wouldn’t play,” Payton said.
He said he’s always worried about the weather and all of the teams showing up, but this year, he had nothing to worry about because there were no no-shows and the weather was good.
“Boy, as soon as you get that national anthem and that first game going, you’re like, ‘We’re off,’ and it seems like it just rolls right along,” Payton said.
Volunteers play a big role in that, from the club members to community members serving as referees, scorekeepers and other roles.
“Doug, the king of getting volunteers, man, he works so hard at getting people to show up,” Payton said.
Ray said fellow Lion Bob Beatty put information about needing volunteers on Facebook within the past couple of weeks. An hour after that, Ray started getting calls.
“Fellowship of Christian Athletes, just individuals in the community, they said, ‘Can we help?’ I said, ‘Just be there. We’ll put you somewhere,’ and then people asked me on the street, ‘Can we help?’” he said.
Payton said it’s neat how Lions Club members pick the role that suits them best and run with it. Besides him contacting the teams and Ray securing volunteers, the Jenningses take care of getting food and drink donations for lunch, and others fill in where needed.
The Lions Club thanked sponsors McDonald’s, Pepsi, Payton Place Auto, Walmart and Aldi.
“Being a service club, we have to get donations all the time for stuff, but I’ll tell you, probably our easiest is Special Olympics,” Rosy said. “When we reach out to the community and tell them it’s for Special Olympics, it’s just amazing. … When I had to deal with the McDonald’s people in Louisville, the minute I said it was for Special Olympics, it’s like turn a button, it was like, ‘Oh, that’s great. No problem.’”
The club also gave special thanks to Trinity United Methodist Church for manning the concession stand and Junkyard BBQ for having its food truck onsite to feed spectators.
“It’s a big team effort,” Rosy said.
Jackson County team results
Special Olympics Indiana Jackson County was represented by three teams and one individual skills participant at Saturday’s tournament.
The Cyclones men’s three-on-three team and Hurricanes women’s three-on-three team both went 1-1 on the day and placed second in their respective divisions.
The Cyclones were the only county team to win its first game, as they defeated Clark-Floyd 20-16. Dale Hickman led with 12 points, and Rob Smith scored the other eight points.
In the championship game of the division, a talented Lawrence County team prevailed 20-2 over Jackson County. Elijah Noble scored the Cyclones’ only points.
Second place was an impressive feat because the Cyclones only had three players available Saturday, so they had no substitutes.
The Hurricanes battled a familiar foe in Decatur County in their first game, and the Cheetahs won 20-8. Amanda Hamm led Jackson County with four points, and Averie Brennan and Alysha Sandlin each scored two points.
In their second game, the Hurricanes defeated Lawrence County 20-12 with Brennan tallying 18 points and Hamm scoring two.
There were only three teams in that women’s division, so Jackson County took the second-place trophy.
The Tornadoes men’s five-on-five team battled hard in their first games of the season but lost 38-20 against Shelby County and 18-16 against Washington County.
In the opener, Darrell Stevens led the way with 10 points, Thomas Emly and A.J. Engel each scored four and Josh Beals finished with two.
In the second game, Jackson County jumped out to a 10-2 lead, but Washington County rallied to even the score at 10 by halftime. With 16 seconds left in the game and the score tied at 16, Jackson County came down the court and missed a shot, and Washington County’s Montana Wilson took the ball the length of the court and made a layup with 2.2 seconds to go for the game-winning shot.
Scoring for the Tornadoes were Stevens with eight and Emly and Engel each with four.
Also Saturday, Owen Law earned a ribbon for completing the shooting, passing and dribbling portions of the individual skills competition.