LYNN — The Lynn Special Games took place Thursday, allowing the city to finally celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the event, which was delayed due to the pandemic two years ago.
“This is not just an event; this is a tradition,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.
Mayor Jared C. Nicholson expressed his gratitude to the Lynn Public Schools “for such a long-term commitment to a great cause.”
Three-hundred and seventy-five elementary-school special athletes, in specialized programs specifically geared toward children with special needs, gathered at Manning Field for the event. The school district transported the students and the teachers from their respective schools.
“It’s an annual opportunity for us to celebrate our values around inclusiveness,” said Tutwiler. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the students to engage with each other and celebrate who they are.”
The event cost about $15,000, said Department of Public Works Associate Commissioner Lisa Nerich, who has organized the Special Games for the past several decades. The funding came from local businesses, such as Re/Max 360 real estate company, which “donated the breakfasts and the lunches for the teachers and the students,” said Nerich.
Other sponsors of the event included the Lynn McDonald’s, which prepared lunches for the children; the Rotary Club of Lynn, which sponsored T-shirts for volunteers and children, and provided medals for every participant; Meninno Construction Co. Inc., which covered the costs for the DJ and the photo booth; and more than a dozen other local businesses and communities, such as the Lynn Teachers Union, Lynn Firefighters Local 739 and Dunkin’ Donuts.
Volunteers from Lynn English High School and Lynn Vocational Technical Institute helped to organize the event, including Tech student Timara James, 17, who thought “it could impact kids’ lives.”
“It’s fun. I wanted to see kids and to help volunteer; it’s a great opportunity to help,” said Ashley Srey, 17, a student at Lynn Tech.
An engine from the Lynn Fire Department became one of the major attractions for the kids, who were climbing inside and trying on the helmets. The kids were curious about “where the water is, and how the water comes out,” said Lynn Fire Lt. Axel Davis.
Along with exploring the fire truck, the kids also had 28 other stations to enjoy, including a funhouse maze, trampoline/parachute, balance beam, ring toss, and candy chaos obstacle course.
A crowd gathered around another popular station, where the kids could throw inflatable axes. And those who were at the shark attack water racer station, targeting sharks with immovable water guns, screamed with joy at the “Baby Shark” song.
At the nutrition-game station, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Northeast Region Program Supervisor Jeanne Baranek taught the kids to make healthy food choices, because “many special-needs kids have many weight challenges and eating challenges.”
“To have a healthy body you have to exercise and select the right calories,” she said.
Daniel Crompton, 10, said that he liked the maze, “because it looked like everything was turned upside down, and it was very cool,” and he liked that there were “dead ends or wrong ways.”
