A couple of weekends ago, I went to the Special Olympics Bowling Tournament at Myers Sport Bowl in Logansport. I did not know about the event until my friend Shadd told me. He was already going and asked me if I wanted to go with him. I decided to go because I did not have anything else going on, and I thought it might be some fun.

When I arrived at the bowling alley early that morning, I went to sign in and get my t-shirt. After all of the volunteers signed in, everyone went to the lounge to get instructions on what we had to do. Every volunteer had a partner, so there were two volunteers to a lane. I was paired up with Shadd and we had four participants in our group. When I arrived to our lane, my group was already there waiting to bowl. One of the other participants sang the National Anthem, and then we began the practice round so the bowlers could warm up. The bowlers had to switch lanes with the group next to us after every round, so part of my job was to make sure the participants were bowling in the correct lane. I also had to make sure that they were going when it was their turn. Nobody was allowed to have food or drinks in the bowling area, so I also had to make sure they were not bringing anything down there. For the most part, all of the participants knew when it was their turn and what lane they were supposed to use. This made my job much easier.

I ended up having a really good time volunteering. I liked seeing everyone who participated having so much fun. When bowlers would get a strike or just knock down most of the pins, they would be so excited. They were so excited that it made me excited. They would always come back to me screaming and yelling and giving me high fives. Volunteering for the Special Olympics was important to me because I have a little sister with Down Syndrome. She did not get to participate in the competition this year, but we plan on having her participate next year. Right now she is playing basketball, and she loves it.

Even though I spent much of my Saturday volunteering, I still think it was worth it. I enjoyed volunteering for the Special Olympics, and I am hoping to volunteer for some more Special Olympic events. I was very happy to help out, and I plan on being back next year.