Special Olympics State Summer Games are back

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Saturday, the Mississippi Special Olympic games took place at Keesler Air Force Base.

500 athletes participated in this year’s state summer games. Installation Project Officer Aaron De La Cruz said they hosted several sports this year.

“We have the opportunity to the swim meets occur. We have the track and field events occurring. We have Bocce Ball,” De La Cruz said.

Keesler has hosted the state summer games for 35 years. De La Cruz says it takes a lot of volunteers to make this happen.

“It’s a joint training environment so we have marines, air force, and air men all coming together and helping,” De La Cruz said.

Heather Boyte plays Bocce; she describes it as on the grass bowling.

“It’s kind of difficult because there’s more strategy to it than people think sometimes. You have to know the right place to stand and when and where the wind is going to hit,” Boyte said.

Stephen Pierce is also a fan of Bocce Ball. He’s been playing for 25 years.

“I’ve done Bocce Ball, full court Bocce Ball. I’m the winner of Bocce Ball,” Pierce said.

The base hosts the athletes in dormitories. De La Cruz says it’s truly worth seeing the smiles on their faces.

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