by Danielle Ray
Sterling resident Kathy Chandler loves winter. An avid skier, Chandler parlayed her love of the sport into a volunteering opportunity. She has been involved with the Special Olympics since the 1980s as a coach and recently retired as a member of the Board of Directors. For the past five years she has run the winter Special Olympics State Games in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
There are 17 athletes and coaches on the Wachusett Great Mountain Bears team that Chandler heads, whose home base is Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, a job she does with the support of a group of dedicated coaches who share her passion.
Weather and snow conditions are huge factors for the games. Two years ago, the games in Massachusetts were cancelled due to the lack of snow at Wachusett Mountain.
“That was heartbreaking for the athletes,” she says. “This year we were nervous that the same thing would happen until we had two great snowstorms in March.”
Chandler had the opportunity to travel to Austria for two weeks last winter to compete in the Special Olympics there with her team. They skied every day and competed in slalom, giant slalom, and super g events. Days began at 5 a.m. to ensure the athletes were ready for breakfast and on the bus to the mountain at 8 a.m. Coach’s meetings at 10 p.m. followed days filled with skiing and awards ceremonies.
“Working with the athletes is what I enjoy most about the Special Olympics,” she says. “Never underestimate how much a person with cognitive challenges can do. It’s amazing when you push them and they respond. It’s the best job in the world.”
Chandler has four grandsons who all ski race, two at Wachusett Mountain and two in Washington state. Her son David is a coach at Wachusett with his two sons. Chandler and her fellow coaches arranged their Special Olympics training day to a time that David was training his team, so he could help them with setting courses and coaching. They are hoping to create a unified team that includes both Special Olympic athletes and “regular” racers who will train and race as a team in 2019 against other unified teams in the state.
Chandler is passionate about her nearly 40 years of involvement with adaptive sports, which is not limited to the Special Olympics. She recently spent a weekend with wounded veterans, a population she says is another of her favorites.
In December she ran a program in Breckenridge, Colorado, where 70 men and women veterans from rehab hospitals all over the country came to learn how to ski.
“They have some of the most significant physical and emotional challenges with lost limbs and traumatic brain injuries,” Chandler says. “But it’s another experience I wouldn’t miss.
“During my tenure in this field, I can say that I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world working with people of all ages and abilities. At the end of every day, everyone – athletes, coaches, and parents – is so excited about what they’ve accomplished. It doesn’t get better than that.”
Photo: Kathy Chandler (center) with members of her Special Olympics team ready to compete.