Special Olympics West Hawaii

Live daringly, boldly, fearlessly. Taste the relish to be found in competition in having put forth the best within you.
— Henry J. Kaiser

Laura Shimabuku, West Hawaii Today freelance photographer and owner of Akamai Photographic in Kailua-Kona, took the following fabulous photos, featuring Special Olympics participants competing in the Big Island Games Day Saturday, July 22, 2008. Laura gave her permission, allowing SOWH to use her images and captions on this blog. May her work, featured below, bring a smile to the athletes and coaches, as well as their friends and families.

Ray Donager takes a shot during the bocce competition at the Big Island Games Day for Special Olympics.

Murray Williams lines up his bocce ball shot at the Big Island Games Day for Special Olympics.

Kelly Yonemura lines up his shot competing in bocce ball competition at the Big Island Games Day for Special Olympics.

Kelly Yonemura celebrates a good bocce ball shot.

Robbie Sonoria, of the Special Olympics West Hawaii Soccer Team, drives the ball downfield.

Robbie Sonoria, #13, of the Special Olympics West Hawaii Soccer Team scores a goal.

Teammates from Kelly Yonemura and Ray Donager take a break from the action at the Big Island Games Day for Special Olympics.

Ray Donager takes his shot at the bocce ball competition while his teammates look on.

Adrian Cleintaur celebrates and reenacts his great bocce ball throw at the Big Island Games Day Special Olympics.

The Special Olympics West Hawaii Soccer Team patiently and excitedly waits to receive awards. Front row includes: Alvin Carvalho and Jason Nagatori. The back row includes: Robbie Sonoria, Shannon Salas and Gregory Routery.

GET EXCITED. That’s right, sports fans, enthusiasts and budding athletes. Basketball and bowling seasons for Special Olympics West Hawaii is approaching. These sports begin September 28 and last until the first weekend of December, when SOWH will compete at the Holiday Classic at Hickam Air Force Base on Oahu.

Athletes interested in competing and showing off their mad skills should sign up with SOWH Area Director Dave Ross, who can be reached at 808-345-1344 or sowhdave@yahoo.com.

Volunteers are needed to serve as unified partners for bowling. SOWH is also seeking people willing to take coaches training for these sports.

The Big Island Games Day for bocce and soccer will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at Old Kona Airport’s soccer field. Special Olympics West Hawaii athletes and their unified partners will be competing against other island teams for a spot at the Aukake State Games, which will be held on Aug. 16 and 17 on Oahu.

Volunteers for the Big Island Games Day are needed. They will assist with athlete staging, scorekeeping, awards, medical and lunch. To help, contact Debbie Extor, SOWH volunteer coordinator, at 808-322-9567 or sowhdebbie@yahoo.com.

Attendance of families, friends and community members is always welcomed. So come and cheer on the SOWH teams.

Here are some suggested cheers from Carolyn Lucas, SOWH online communications director and former rah-rah-sis-boom-bah squad member.

FOR THE SOCCER TEAM:
We’re fired up, we’re sizzlin’
We’re turning up the heat.
When it comes to soccer,
Our team can’t be beat!

FOR THE BOCCE TEAM:
Come on, get up and scream,
We’re going crazy for the bocce team!

For more information about the Big Island Games Day or upcoming competitions, contact Lona Warner, SOWH head of delegation, 808-327-0491, 808-989-2080 or biglona@hotmail.com.

Bocce (pronounced BAH-chee) is a lawn bowling game that really gets the Special Olympics West Hawaii team rolling. This low-impact sport is easy to learn and, of course, delightful to play.

Longtime volunteer Nikki Cleintuar attended a recent SOWH bocce practice and took the images below. The team is preparing for the 2008 Aukake Classic, which take place August 16 and 17 in Oahu’s Waiau District Park.

Head Coach Lona Warner measures the distance between the pallina and the player’s balls to determine the winner of the round.

SOWH athlete and bocce player Amy Aguiar (right) hangs out with her unified partner K.C. Strand (right).

A veteran athlete of many SOWH sports, Duke Kaawa is ready to try bocce along with his new unified partner Doreen Parker. Duke and Doreen are also Hula Halau Makanani dancers.

For several years, Kelly Yonemura has been an inspiring unified bowling partner for SOWH, regularly averaging more than 200 points per game. In his rookie season on the bocce court, he is still firing up his teammates with his great competitive spirit and enthusiasm.

Les Lund is a unified partner, coaching assistant and dedicated volunteer. He looks very serious as he follows through on his toss. But winning thegame is only secondary to this man-of-many-hats who spends countless hours helping athletes become winners in life.

Ray Kealoha Donager has been involved with Special Olympics for more than 20 years. In 2007, he traveled to China to compete as a powerlifter in the Special Olympics World Games. He returned with no less than four gold medals. Ray is trying bocce for the first time. He is fitting practice into an already busy schedule which includes a full-time job, dancing hula and gardening on the weekends.

SOWH athlete and bocce player Michael Tom Makanui (right) waits his turn as his unified partner and dad Bob Makanui (left) takes his best shot.

Soccer, also known as football, is considered the world’s most popular and fastest growing sport. It can be played by just about anybody. It has proven to be a fun and rewarding activity for Special Olympics West Hawaii athletes because it involves the participation of everyone constantly.

Longtime volunteer Nikki Cleintuar visited a SOWH soccer practice Thursday. She captured the following great photos of the players and Coach Steve Strand. Enjoy!

Coach Steve Strand strikes a pose.

Coach Steve Strand (left) works on the dribble technique with soccer player Shannon Salas (right).

Soccer player Greg Routery practices his kicks.

• Egyptain carvings, dating back to 5200 BCE, portraying two boys playing a primitive form of bocce ball. Egyptains are widely believed to be the first to play this game, which they supposedly used rocks instead of balls. However, some sources claim bocce was started in Greece during sixth century BC.
• Bocce is a direct descendant of the Latin word “bottia” which means boss.
• Early Romans used coconuts to paly bocce and then carve balls made of olive wood. A notable player was Emperor Augustus.
• Umberto Granaglia, considered the greatest bocce baller, was named “Player of 20th Century” by the Confederation Mondiale des Sport de Boules. He was most recognized for Volo, the most technically skilled form of the game.
• Bocce became so popular that King Carlos IV and King Carlos V prohibited the game from being played because it supposedly interferred with military training. The Republic of Venice even introduced fine and imprisonment for those caught palying bocce in 1576.
• There is a cocktail named after the game. A bocce ball is made with orange juice, amaretto and club soda.
• Bocce is one of the newer sports of Special Olympics. It was introduced at the World Gamers in 1995. As of 2005, more than 90,000 Special Olympics athletes have competed in bocce annually.
• The small ball used in bocce is called a pallino, one ball, jack, cue or beebee. It varies in size, from 53 mm to 63 mm, but is usually white.
• The larger balls are actually called bocce balls. They are made of composition, wood or metal. The typical size ranges from 107 mm to 113.
• The object of the game is for one team to get as many of their bocce balls close to the pallina than the opposing team’s closest ball.

DIG! DIG! DIG! Several Special Olympics West Hawaii athletes regularly participate in the Kalamaku adaptive paddling program. Kalamaku is amazing. Members meet the fourth Sunday of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Located in a sheltered cove in Kailua-Kona, next to the King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel, the location is easy for launching canoes for adaptive paddlers. Participants enjoy a day at the beach, as well as participate in paddling, swimming, or playing in the sand with beach toys.

Canoes, paddles, safety equipment, life vests, boogie boards and beach toys are provided. For the safety of all participants, paddlers will be asked to sign a waiver. For more information about Kalamaku or to get involved, call Masepa Tanoai at 808-936-6695. Also visit www.projectpurelight.com.

West Hawaii Today photographer Baron Sekiya took the following awesome photos, featuring the Kalamaku participants competing in their first official race Sunday, April 27. He gave his permission, allowing SOWH to use his images and captions on this blog. He hopes his work, featured below, brings a smile to the athletes, as well as their friends and families.

Tyrus Suezaki, his mom Dale and coach Mesepa Tanoai (left) along with Eric Hedenberg (right front) and volunteer Troy Fujitani (right rear) enjoy a paddle out on Kailua Bay in a double-hulled canoe with the program Kalamaku which takes adaptive paddlers out on outrigger canoes. The group was treated to a pod of dolphins in the bay along with canoe races which they participated in.

Volunteers and participants in the Kalamaku adaptive paddlers program after their outrigger canoe race in Kailua Bay. Two outrigger canoes with added ama (outriggers) and a double-hulled canoe participated in the race.

Chelsey Tanoai talks about Kalamaku’s outrigger canoe paddling program.

Norman Matsubara talks about how he enjoys the Kalamaku program where he paddles an outrigger canoe.

About 20 members of the Hula Halau Makanani – Kona Class performed a variety of dances June 14 at Kona United Methodist Church. The halau, led by kumu Lona Warner, wowed the cheering audience of families and friends.

“Our Special Olympics kane did a great job,” said Nikki Cleintuar, longtime volunteer for Special Olympics West Hawaii and Hula Halau Makanani participant. “They pulled out all the stops, performing the dances they’ve been learning and practicing for the past six months.”

The following fabulous photos of the performance and captions are from Nikki. Enjoy!

Adrian Cleintuar is joined by wahine dancers Patti (left) and Marcia (right) for “Island Of Love,” a dance about Kauai.

Duke Kaawa coordinates moves to frontline dancer Lisa Grieg in “Island Of Love.”

Halau Makanani’s traditional “last hula” of every performance includes all dances. It is a beautiful reverent medley of “Walk Through Paradise/Kanaka Waiwai” sung in both English and Hawaiian by Melveen Leed. Pictured left to right are Madeline Follesco, Shane Follesco, Duke Kaawa, Nikki Cleintuar, Amy Chang, Doreen Parker, Ray (Kealoha) Donager and Lisa Greig.

Kane and wahine perform this old favorite using a variety of implements, including ipu, kalaau, pu and puili. Pictured left to right are Duke Kaawa, kumu Lona Warner, Shane Follesco, Madeline Follesco, Ray (Kealoha) Donager, Doreen Parker and Adrian Cleintuar.

Ray (Kealoha) Donager is amazing at getting the poi balls to do exactly what he wants. Here he performs a Maori dance called Hoki Hoki.

This is a lively dance that comes from Tahiti. Dancers Patti, Adrian and Marcia perform Tamure using implements called ii.