Many young men and young women in the Corvallis Oregon Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have made lasting friendships with others in their community after an “exceptional Olympics” event in November 2024.
Just like the Olympics and Paralympic Games held every two years, the exceptional Olympics included opening and closing ceremonies, competitive events and gold medals.
But unlike other Olympics, these games were geared for people with disabilities. Each game could be changed to accommodate the competitor’s individual abilities. Young men and young women volunteers also cheered on and helped the athletes compete at whatever level they could.
The stake invited anyone high-school-aged and older in the community with disabilities to participate.
16-year-old Karoline Teerlink from the Witham Hill Oregon Ward enjoyed helping with the event, especially as one of her friends who has Down syndrome participated as a competitor.
“It’s like that scripture that says when you’re in the service of others, you’re in the service of God. I really felt that,” Karoline said, referencing Mosiah 2:17. “It really helped me show and share Christ’s love for these people. And also just have fun.”
Her favorite part of the event came at the end of the night when all the youth and competitors had a dance. And now because of this event, she said she has a better friendship with some of the people at her school who have disabilities and whom she didn’t know before.
“It might be scary to do this, and you might not know what to do, but I would just invite people. It’s super fun, and I think it’s a great opportunity,” she said.
Stake Young Women President Nikki King said this was a youth-led event. The young men and young women came up with the different competitive events and led the evening.
Events included putting together a big floor puzzle, racing to wrap the athletes like mummies in rolls of toilet paper, throwing frisbees into large garbage cans and racing across the meetinghouse cultural hall with a spoonful of candy to fill up a bowl.
The youth prepared the activity, aided the competitors in each event and cheered them on.
“That was great because they stepped up and led,” King said. “And the youth were having as much fun as the guests who we invited.”
After each event, the competitors were able to stand on a podium to show off their gold medals. The young men and young women also cheered on their new friends as they celebrated their individual wins. King said that because the youth took initiative, there was a special spirit during the event.
“By the end of the night, they were all hugging each other and knew each other’s names and who they were,” she said. “Our youth were their biggest cheerleaders and that was really cool to see.”
King said another highlight of the whole event was that it gave family members of the individuals with disabilities a chance to connect with each other.
