October 1, 2012 at 2:27 p.m.
Tomahawk instructor to coach Special Olympians in 2013 World Winter Games
Tomahawk instructor to coach Special Olympians in 2013 World Winter Games
Kahn, who specializes in physical education and adapted physical education, has been involved with Special Olympics for more than 20 years. She said Special Olympics has become her passion.
"You're fortunate to find something you're passionate about and to enjoy every moment," Kahn said. "You get so much back from the athlete. The payback is huge, and what we get back from it is what it's all about."
Kahn was named SOWI Coach of the Year in 2001 and received the Award for Excellence at the annual Special Olympics Volunteer Award and Recognition Program in 2000. She has served on the Area Management Team for the State Winter Games in Wausau. Nationally, she was selected as a coach for Team Wisconsin in the first-ever National Games in Iowa in 2006. Kahn has also served as a coach for the 2001 World Games in Alaska, in addition to serving as Team USA's cross-country skiing coach at the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Japan and the 2009 World Winter Games in Idaho. Last summer, Kahn was selected to coach athletics (track & field) during the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Greece.
Kahn will be joining three Special Olympics Wisconsin athletes who were selected to represent Team USA at the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Making the trip to South Korea will be Daina Shilts, 21 of Neillsville, Jason Suino, 23 of Hayward, and Alex Guild, 22 of De Pere. Shilts will compete in snowboarding, Suino in cross-country skiing, and Guild in snowshoe racing.
In preparation for the World Winter Games, Special Olympics Team USA athletes and coaches will attend a training camp in Albany and Lake Placid, N.Y. Dec. 10-14. The training camp will be the first time the Special Olympics Team USA delegation will be together prior to the 2013 World Winter Games. The camp will offer a variety of team building activities and sport-specific training in Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, speed skating, figure skating, floor hockey and floor ball demonstration.
This is the 10th Special Olympics World Winter Games, bringing together 3,300 Special Olympics athletes from more than 112 nations to compete in eight Olympic-type sports.
The eight-day event will be one of the largest winter multi-sport events held in the country, making the 2013 World Winter Games a milestone for South Korea. It also promises to fulfill a long-lasting movement, founded by the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1968, to create a world of inclusion, respect, acceptance through the power of sport.
To learn more about the 2013 World Winter Games, visit the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games official website at www.2013sopoc.org/hb/en, or find more information about the athletes representing Team USA at www.specialolympicsteamusa.org.
SOWI provides year-round training and competition opportunities through 17 different Olympic-type sports for nearly 10,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities. Mission partners Kwik Trip and the Law Enforcement Torch Run, enable the organization to hold 137 statewide competitions and five state tournaments per year.
For more information, visit SpecialOlympicsWisconsin.org or call (800) 552-1324.
Comments:
You must login to comment.