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Special Olympics Held in Nashville - Heather Jensen
Olympic Games were held Nashville Wednesday. They were special Olympic Games.
Harris Hillman School was host to the games for the Motor Activities Training Program (MATP).
Most of the athletes are wheelchair-bound. They compete against themselves in simple activities like grasping, kicking, reaching, or extending. And they train everyday.
"a lot of things we do here are the same things some of the classroom teachers would be working on in the class, like we would touch a ball. They may touch a switch,” says volunteer Nancy Whitehurst. “They might move their foot to something in the classroom. We would touch it to a ball."
The area director of Special Olympics Nashville says middle Tennessee is the only area to host a MATP Olympic event.
The MATP Olympics are open to all athletes unable to participate in basic Special Olympics events. The athletes must be at least eight years; but there is no age limit for older athletes.
The state games for higher functioning Special Olympic athletes are Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17. Opening ceremonies are Friday at David Lipscomb and competition is all day Saturday at Vanderbilt.
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