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Constable: Push to keep 'special' in these Olympics

Among all the questions that popped into the heads of new parents Chris and Mindy Stanton 15 years ago when they learned their newborn daughter Abby had Down syndrome was the innocent inquiry from her hockey-playing dad, “Will she ever ice skate?”

That question answered by the assortment of skating trophies and medals filling Abby's bedroom in the family's Lake in the Hills home, she and her parents now wonder whether her skating career in the Special Olympics can continue to be fun and rewarding.

“I like performing,” says Abby, as she comes off the ice after practicing her routine with coach Zane Shropshire at the Crystal Ice House in Crystal Lake.

“It's part of who she is,” Mindy Stanton says about Abby's dedication to skating and the chance to perform in the Special Olympics. “It's not just about skating for these kids. It's about the parade and seeing the Olympic torch. It's about being together.”

Last winter's Special Olympics statewide figure skating and speed skating competition moved to a new location, and much of that traditional pomp fell prey to new circumstances.

“A number of our kids were like, ‘Where's the parade?'” remembers Matt Collins, a retired Hoffman Estates firefighter who lives with his wife, Liz, in Crystal Lake, and has been watching their son, Ben, a 20-year-old with Down syndrome, skate in the Special Olympics for a decade.

Dave Breen, president of Special Olympics Illinois, acknowledges the abrupt change of routine but insists it's no signal the organization's devotion to skating is waning.

“There definitely are things on our end that we didn't do well,” Breen admits.

He's heard an outpouring of complaints from parents and advocates worried about the future of skating at the Special Olympics and acknowledges that he must convince skeptics that the organization is dedicated to seeing skating thrive.

After years in Galena, in the far northwestern corner of Illinois, the Special Olympics Winter Games moved the skating competitions last year to Canlan Ice Sports in southwest suburban Romeoville, where the 2015 event also is scheduled for Feb. 18-19. Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing remain in Galena, where 400 skiers are expected to compete Feb. 3-5.

Part of the reasoning for the skating move, Breen says, was to make it easier for people from across the state to attend. The number of skaters competing did increase from a low of 31 two years ago to 42 last year, he notes. But he has apologized to parents and skaters for what he calls “a lot of hiccups” in the first year at a new venue.

“The red carpet was about this big,” Mindy Stanton says, using her arms to indicate a length more throw rug than carpet. Welcome signs were still going up as kids arrived, she says. Skaters complained about not being able to hear the music for their routines. Everyone seemingly had trouble hearing the always uplifting emotional “global messenger” speech given by a person with disabilities who has received training from the National Speakers Association of Illinois.

“It was utterly disappointing to the point where Kayla wanted to quit,” says Patti Barnard, who, with her husband Chuck, has supported Special Olympics' efforts to make life better for kids, including their 24-year-old daughter with an intellectual disability. “It (skating at the Olympics) is the thing my daughter looks forward to more than anything else all year.”

Breen has promised to meet with parents after this year's event and says he is open to suggestions about ways to make the experience better, including options about moving the event to a different location or holding the competition on a weekend.

Figure skating and speed skating feature fewer athletes and require more work on the part of organizers. Reserving an open field for a summer sport isn't as difficult as finding ice time at a rink.

“Soccer is a hundred times easier,” Breen says, quickly adding that the effort put into skating sports still is worth it. “Our goal is to grow the sport and have a better experiences for the athletes, volunteers and coaches.”

Judo never could get insurance coverage and only a couple of athletes expressed an interest in snowboarding, Breen says, but Special Olympics Illinois boasts more than 21,300 athletes competing in 19 sports, including sports such as equestrian events and skating, where participation fluctuates.

The organization spent money in 2013 to send Illinois speed skater Patrick McCarthy, an Oak Park native and resident of Chicago's Misericordia Heart of Mercy, to the Special Olympics World Games in Korea, where the 23-year-old won several medals, including a gold.

Abby, who has been skating since she was 6 through the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association, sums up her competitive career by noting, “I think I won a trophy.” This brings chuckles from her younger sister, Isabelle, an 8-year-old skater, who says Abby's bedroom has the same stash of medals and trophies as her bedroom.

The best part of skating is “my coach” and “my friends,” says Abby, who looks at a poster from last year's event and rattles off the name of every skater.

Under the direction of Shropshire, Abby, Ben, Kayla and other skaters at the Crystal Ice House have expanded their program to work on an ice theater performance based on “Frozen.”

“I'm a mentor,” says Isabelle, who has been participating in ice shows since she was 4. “I help with scenery and help guide them from place to place.”

Restoring and even improving on the past pageantry of the skating events at the Special Olympics is a goal of Special Olympics Illinois, Breen says. Parents suggest that the Special Olympics carry enough clout, or simply good will, to get help in making the improvements needed to grow the skating sports and make the athletes and their parents happy.

“You would expect more than just ‘show up, skate, and go home with a medal,'” says Matt Collins. “The easiest way to say it is, ‘Put the special back into it.'”

Advocate for Down syndrome community dies

  After competing in the figure skating competition at the Special Olympics for years, Abby Stanton, 15, of Lake in the Hills, middle in blue, and her teammates learn a routine for their first Theatre on Ice production during a practice at the Crystal Ice House in Crystal Lake. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Skaters swirl around Special Olympics figure skater Abby Stanton, 15, as they rehearse their Theatre on Ice routine. "You give them the opportunity and support, they really can do lots of things," dad Chris Stanton says of the skaters with developmental and intellectual disabilities. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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