Special Olympics West Hawaii

Please enjoy the following photos taken during Special Olympics Hawaii’s Summer Games. held at the University of Hawaii over Memorial Day weekend. This event features 3 days of competition for more 700 athletes in Track & Field (Athletics), Swimming (Aquatics), Powerlifting, and Softball (includes Unified® Softball, Coach Pitch, T-Ball, and Individual Skills). The Summer Games marks the end of the Spring season.

Special Olympics West Hawaii’s softball team brought home the gold medal, beating Hilo’s team 18 to 2 for the championship, said Nikki Cleintuar, longtime SOWH volunteer and spokeswoman.

“Congratulations to all our athletes. Mahalo to Area Director Dave Ross, all the coaches and volunteers,” she said. “Your hard work, caring and support helped to make it a great season and a fantastic weekend.”

Thanks to SOWH volunteers Jizelle Yates and the Wong ohana, as well as Coach Denise Lindsey, for sharing your fantastic photos with Special Olympics West Hawaii ohana. To view, Denise’s entire album, click here. The Wong’s album is here.

Seven West Hawaii lifters vied for honors in the Weinberg Regional Powerlifting Meet, held Sunday, April 11, at The Club in Kona following the Troy Barboza Law Enforcement Torch Run. Participation in this meet qualifies athletes for the next level of competition: State Summer Games on Oahu (May 28, 29 and 30).

Head Coach Denise Lindsey, as well as Assistant Coaches Ben Sulliban, Shannon Hardy, Kapiolani Tachera, Jizell Yates and Josh Yong, have had their athletes practicing hard since the first of the year. It showed in this meet. Proper training is very systematic and each individual lifter’s plan must be customized to help them reach their maximum potential with absolute safety.

There are only a handful of qualified coaches in the entire state who have the knowledge and experience to run a top-notch program. Coach Lindsey, a champion lifter in her own right, is the best-of-the-best. Special Olympics West Hawaii is grateful for her continuing years of service to Team West Hawaii, as well as the State powerlifting program.

“This has been an exciting and challenging season,” Lindsey said. “All but two of our powerlifters are completely new to the sport and our team ranges in age from 14 to 50. Also, we have three women competing this year, which is great.”

A quality program attracts help from many sources and Lindsey is grateful for that.

“I must give props to the assistant coaches,” she said. “Without their love and support for the program, it would be almost impossible for me to do this solo. Our Special Olympics powerlifting athletes respect one another and their coaches. This respect was nurtured and taught before they entered powerlifting. I believe it began with a great family foundation and a wonderful community to back it up. I am proud and grateful to be a part of Special Olympics.”

A powerlifting competition consists of three separate lift events (squat, bench press and deadlift). Each category of lift is repeated in three rounds, with the best lift used as the final score. There is also one “combination” score which is calculated upon a variety of factors, including all three lifts and body weight.

Below are the final lifts from this meet. Be sure to check back after Summer Games to see how our team stacked up against all our competitors statewide.

ATHLETE — SQUAT — BENCH — DEADLIFT — COMBO
Shannon Salas (1st year) N/A N/A 45 N/A
Edna Phillip (1st year, age 50) N/A 65 170 235
Lois Phillip (1st year, age 48) N/A 55 135 190
Ray Donager (World Games gold winner) 245 180 265 690
Isaiah Wong (age 18) 275 210 410 895
Marinna Takahashi-Ruiz (age 14) N/A N/A 90 N/A
Joel van der Hoek (1st year, age 14) N/A 60 175 235

Congratulations to all the athletes who worked hard to be ready for this competition. We are so proud of you! Mahalo nui loa to everyone who helped make this competition possible and successful.

Area Director: Dave Ross
Head Coach: Denise Lindsey
Asst. Coaches: Ben Sulliban, Shannon Hardy, Kapiolani Tachera, Jizell Yates & Josh Yong
Sponsors: The Club in Kona & Café Fit
Judges: Winston Ho, “Chisel” and Clyde Omaya
Loaders/Spotters: Darren Elisaga, Lupaka & Brian Hart
Scorekeeper: Nancy Conception
Announcer: Maggie Lobo
Medical: Head of Delegation Lona Warner
Awards: Adrian Cleintuar
Fans in da Stands: You know who you are. Thank you!

West Hawaii Today’s Sports Department wrote a fantastic brief about the Special Olympics West Hawaii athletes that participated in Summer Games powerlifting competition. The brief was published June 9 and can be viewed on the newspaper’s Web site. Here’s an excerpt:

Kailua-Kona’s Adrian Cleintuar took first place in the 198-pound weight class of the Special Olympics Hawaii State Summer Games powerlifting competition, which took place May 28-31 at the University of Hawaii.

Cleintuar lifted a combined 665 pounds, with a squat of 215 pounds, a bench press of 190 and a deadlift of 260. Patrick Dungate, also of Kailua-Kona, placed third in the five-competitor 198-pound class with a combination lift of 395 pounds (55 squat, 95 bench, 245 deadlift).

Two other Kailua-Kona competitors fared well in the 220-pound class.

Isaiah Wong took second overall by lifting a combined 880 pounds (270 squat, 205 bench press, 405 deadlift). His deadlift topped that of the five other participants in the weight class.

Ray Donager placed fourth with a combination lift of 705 pounds (235 squat, 185 bench, 285 deadlift).

Denise Lindsey and Steve Strand coached the West Hawaii quartet.

Special Olympics West Hawaii participated in the Summer Games held at the University of Hawaii-Manoa from May 29 to May 30. Summer Games marks the end of the Spring season.

Mahalo to the athletes, coaches, volunteers, families, friends and supporters. You are valued highly and important to the success of the Special Olympics program.

Long-time volunteer Nikki Cleintuar made a video of all the moments captured at this year’s Summer Games, which can be viewed online by clicking here or visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9EhXVsXx70.

Also, please enjoy the following photos taken during the Summer Games by KC Strand, SOWH volunteer coordinator, and volunteer Doreen Parker. To see the entire album created by KC, click here.

Special Olympics West Hawaii is participating in the Summer Games, held May 29 through May 31, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Roughly 1,100 athletes and coaches statewide will compete in Track & Field (Athletics), Swimming (Aquatics), Powerlifting, and Softball (includes Unified Softball, Coach Pitch, T-Ball, and Individual Skills). The Summer Games marks the end of the Spring season. Over 2,500 volunteers help at this Olympic-style contest.

The Summer Games schedule is as follows:

Friday, May 29
8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.: softball for all divisions
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: softball individual skills
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: lunch
4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.: dinner
7 p.m.: opening ceremonies

Saturday, May 30
6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.: breakfast
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: lunch
4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.: dinner
9 a.m. to noon: track for ages 8-21, field for ages 22 and older, and level III track & field
12:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.: track for ages 22 and up
12:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.: field for ages 8-21
2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m.: relays for all ages
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Healthy Athlete, Olympic Town and powerlifting
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: swimming
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: victory dance

Sunday, May 31
6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.: breakfast
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: lunch
8 a.m. to noon: Healthy Athlete
8:30 a.m. to noon: Olympic Town
8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: powerlifting
7:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.: swimming
8:15 a.m. to 1 p.m.: track and field
1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.: closing ceremonies

To learn more about the Summer Games, visit the Special Olympics Hawaii Web site at www.specialolympicshawaii.org.

Special Olympics West Hawaii powerlifters Adrian Cleintuar, Ray Donager, Patrick Dungate and Isaiah Wong flew to Maui on Saturday, May 2, for the regional meet that qualifies them for competition at State Summer Games. They were accompanied by coaches Denise Lindsey and Steven Strand, as well as family.

The day-long event was held at Baldwin High School in Wailuku, following the Maui leg of the Troy Barboza Law Enforcement Torch Run. Police officers participating in the 3-mile run graciously stayed on afterwards to serve as loaders and spotters for the meet. Loaders and spotters are the hard working, indispensable crew who the load weights onto the bars. They are close at hand throughout each lift, watching closely to catch a bar if necessary to ensure the safety of the athletes.

Special Olympics Hawaii Vice President of Sports Dan Epstein was announcer and scorekeeper. SOHI Director of Powerlifting Winston Ho served as head official.

More than 20 lifters representing Hawaii Island, Maui and Molokai vied for honors in the squat, bench press, deadlift and combo events at the competition.

Even for the uninitiated, powerlifting is one of the most satisfying sports to watch. The pace is fast and with each lift there is potential for a moment of intense drama.

The athletes have been training for months. They know what they can do in practice, but until they are tested in competition it is impossible for them to know how they will stack up.

In fact, the excitement doesn’t let up until the very end of the meet. Because of complex scoring factors, it is not uncommon for an athlete to find out who is actually in his division until he finds himself next to that competitor on the awards stand.

Because West Hawaii’s Isaiah Wong and Patrick Dungate, both age 17, were experiencing their very first powerlifting competition, the anticipation was especially high for the West Hawaii team. Special Olympics rules stipulate that an athlete must be age 16 or older to train and compete in powerlifting.

Wong and Dungate proved to themselves and everyone present that they had the hearts, souls, muscles and dedication to be top notch powerlifters.

Veteran lifters Ray Donager, 42, and Adrian Cleintuar, 25, also displayed their “Westside Pride” with outstanding performances.

A big mahalo goes out to Head Coach Denise Lindsey and Assistant Coach Steven Strand. For without their wealth of knowledge, skill, patience and tireless commitment to our athletes, the SOWH powerlifting program would not exist.

Please enjoy the following photos taken during the competition. To see the entire album created by Denise Lindsey, SOWH coach, and Nikki Cleintuar, SOWH volunteer, click here.

From left to right: Patrick Dungate, Ray (Kealoha) Donager, Isaiah Wong & Adrian Cleintuar.

Ray Donager deadlifts 275 pounds.

Patrick Dungate deadlifts 210 pounds in his first powerlifting competition.

Isaiah Wong deadlifts 405 pounds.

Adrian Cleintuar does the deadlift, a weight training exercise where one lifts a loaded barbell off the ground from a stabilized bent position.

SOWH’s powerlifting team displaying their “Westside Pride.”

After practice, the SOWH powerlifting team celebrated Ray Donager’s birthday.

Note: SOWH athletes can participate in two sports. Practices begin Feb. 4. Anyone interested in competing or volunteering should sign-up by sending SOWH volunteer coordinator KC Strand an e-mail at zionvideos@yahoo.com. You may also contact Lona Warner, head of delegation, at 808-989-2080, 808-327-0491 or biglona@hotmail.com.

SOFTBALL & T-BALL
3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays & Fridays at Old Kona Airport Park’s baseball field, located at the end of Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona.

SWIMMING
5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays & Fridays at the Kona Community Aquatic Center, located at 75-5500 Kuakini Hwy. in Kailua-Kona.

POWERLIFTING
5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Wednesdays at The Club at Kona, located at 75-5699 Kopiko St. in Kailua-Kona.
11 a.m. to noon Saturdays at The Club at Kona, located at 75-5699 Kopiko St. in Kailua-Kona.

TRACK & FIELD
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays & Thursdays at Kealakehe High School’s track, located at 74-5000 Puohulihuli St. in Kailua-Kona.

To participate:
* Volunteers must fill out the required forms, available online at www.specialolympicshawaii.org/volunteers.htm.
* Athletes must fill out the required forms, available online at www.specialolympicshawaii.org/a&f-registration.htm.