Clark County Press, Neillsville, Clark Co., WI

March 30, 2011, Page 18

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Meurett leads World Summer Games training

As Special Olympics programs around the world prepare for the largest and most inspiring sporting event of 2011, Steve Meurett of Neillsville will make a trip in just 100 days to Athens, Greece for the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011.

To prepare for global competition, Meurett and the rest of Special Olympics Team USA headed to San Diego State University in San Diego, CA, and nearby venues for a training camp, which began Sunday, March 27, and will run through Thursday, March 31.

As head coach, Meurett will take the lead on training essentials for the Team USA track team and be responsible for communicating all information updates to assigned athletes, family members and local coaches.

Team USA coaches working under Meurett are also responsible for ensuring all athletes are training with appropriate supervision and ensuring the athletes and coaches experience the athletic, physical and social benefits of participating in the World Games.

Meurett is a 20-year veteran Special Olympics coach. On the local level, he is a cross-country and track coach; statewide, he has served on the Area Management Team for the State Winter Games in Wausau.

On the national level, this will be Meurett’s fifth World Games experience, having coached cross-country skiing athletes at the 2001 World Games in Anchorage, AK; the half-marathon at the 2003 World Games in Dublin, Ireland; cross-country skiing athletes at the 2005 World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan; and cross-country skiing at the 2009 World Winter Games in Boise, ID.

“I have learned so much from each World Games opportunity I have had,” said Meurett.  “With so many great coaches on my team, I feel I can be a good resource for them with past experience I have obtained through Team Wisconsin.  Nothing is more exciting than representing our team where the actual Olympics originated in Greece.”

After over 20 years of coaching high school athletics, Meurett stated he appreciates what Special Olympics athletes bring to athletic competition, since they know the true meaning of competition.

“I know I’ll be coaching with the best coaches in the United States and with some of the best athletes in the country,” Meurett explained.

Meurett was recognized at the annual Special Olympics Volunteer Award and Recognition Program as Coach of the Year in 2004 and Volunteer of the Year in 2001.  Meurett is an art specialist for Neillsville School District students and teaches photography at Neillsville High School.  His hobbies include photography, art, and outdoor sports, including mountain biking, cross-country skiing and trail building.

The two athletes representing Special Olympics Team USA and Wisconsin are Rebecca Stelpflug, 20, of Menomonee Falls, who will compete in swimming; and Christopher Mark, 17, of Burlington, who will compete in track-and-field events.

For Special Olympics Team USA, consisting of 317 athletes and 126 coaches – including management team members – training camp is the first time many Special Olympics athletes will unite with their Special Olympics World Summer Games coach and other athletes throughout the nation who will join them on their trip to Athens.  The camp will offer a variety of coaches meetings and sport-specific training for athletes in athletics, aquatics, basketball, bocce, bowling, bicycling, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, kayaking, powerlifting, sailing, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.

Special Olympics athletes and coaches will participate in a variety of unifying and team-building activities in San Diego.

Featured camp events include an opening ceremony, featuring Olympic decathlete and founder of Special Olympics Southern California Rafer Johnson; and a closing ceremony/Greek Night, featuring Olympic softball player Amanda Freed.

Special Olympics Team USA athletes will be fitted for uniforms and have sport-specific photos taken during camp. Champion is the official performance apparel supplier of Special Olympics Team USA.

Other sponsors include P&G; the American Federation of Teachers; and MTM Recognition.  Loudmouth supplies Special Olympics Team USA’s golf team products.

The 13^th Special Olympics World Summer Games will unite 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from 180 nations to compete in 22 Olympic-type sports from June 25 through July 4.

The 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games will be the milestone event of a long-lasting movement Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded in 1968 to create a world not dominated by those who are excluded but by those who are included.

In Athens, the birthplace of modern sport – where the true values of competition were born – Special Olympics athletes’ talents and skills will remind everyone what the World Games are about. All participants are winners in their struggle for respect, inclusion and unity.

Every two years, thousands of Special Olympics athletes world wide come together to showcase their athletic skills and celebrate the spirit of Special Olympics. Alternating between Summer Games and Winter Games, Special Olympics World Games brings public attention to the talents and capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities, helping change attitudes and break down barriers excluding them from each community’s mainstream.

For more information about Special Olympics Team USA, visit Website http://www.specialolympicsteamusa.org or find additional information at the Special Olympics World Summer Games official Website http://www.athens2011.org/en/index.asp

Kwik Trip, the Law Enforcement Torch Run, the mission Partners of Special Olympics Wisconsin (SOWI) and Fox sports Wisconsin allows the organization to hold nearly 80 competitions and five state tournaments per year. SOWI provides year-round training and competition opportunities through 18 different Olympic-type sports for nearly 10,000 individuals with cognitive disabilities.

Join the online community by following Special Olympics on Twitter and Facebook. For more information, visit Website www.specialolympicswisconsin.org , call 800-552-1324 or visit Website www.athens2011.org for World Games Specifics.