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4 Raleigh Countians set for Special Olympics USA Games

Jun. 1—Four Raleigh County Special Olympians will be flying south to Orlando, Fla., this weekend. On Wednesday, they were given another sendoff, this one of the ceremonial kind.

The City of Beckley and Mayor Rob Rappold recognized the four athletes during a special ceremony at the Raleigh County Courthouse. They will be traveling to Florida for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games set for June 6-11.

The athletes are Maggie Ashley, Michelle (Nikki) Rice, Yuki Lawrence and Alicia Lopez. They will leave Beckley on Friday and fly out of Charleston on Saturday.

The four Raleigh Countians will be part of Team West Virginia. Athletes from many other counties in West Virginia will also be making the trip.

All four will be competing in bowling, a sport that was chosen among track and field, swimming and bocci. They have been practicing at Leisure Lanes in anticipation of their big trip.

"These kids have been playing under Raleigh County for several years in different things, whether it be track and field, bowling, basketball or so forth," said Lisa Matherly, the director for Raleigh County Special Olympics. "We were asked last year for a list of names from their actual coaches that they would pick for this actual event."

Matherly said she and the coaches were unsure of what criteria organizers had in mind at the time.

"These kids have to be able to actually stay in a motel room and be able to, of course, dress themselves and stuff like that," she said. "So a little bit more high-functioning special needs kids that have been participating in the Special Olympics over the years is more of what they were looking for, to make sure they could handle the venue and everything.

"They will be doing different things with them down there. Of course they will have chaperones and so forth with them."

Past experience in Special Olympics also came into play.

"I think they looked more at some of the athletes that's been participating in this time and overall during Covid, even though some of it's been sort of shut down," Matherly said. "Some of the counties came back into play a lot sooner than other counties. I guess they were more skeptical in regards to their athletes, then other counties met the qualifications sooner."

In addition to the Mayor's proclamation on Wednesday, Beckley Events Director Jill Moorefield will recognize the athletes during Fridays in the Park at the gazebo at Jim Word Park.

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Visit The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.) at www.register-herald.com

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