Windham – Polly Brown is no stranger to the Special Olympics. She has competed in the Winter Games for several years now but this year she also qualified for the Summer Games, which is a new venture for the 27 year old Windham resident. Brown who has competed in Nordic Skiing at the Winter Games was able to qualify for bowling in the Summer Games.
In order to qualify for bowling, an athlete must have an established average by either bowling on Portage County Developmental Disabilities Bowling Teams or on regular league at a bowling facility. Miss Brown was able to establish her average by bowling in the King and Queens League at Skylanes Bowling Alley in Garrettsville.
Using her established 105 average, Polly was named one of the top four bowlers in Area 10 and was selected to compete in Columbus in the Special Olympics. Area 10 covers Summit, Medina, Portage and Stark Counties.
On Friday, June 27th the athletes boarded buses and headed south to the Ohio State University where they would reside for the weekend. After their arrival in Columbus, the athletes, got settled, they visited all the vendors in “tent town” and got prepared for Opening Ceremonies held at Jesse Owens Stadium. Opening Ceremonies at the Special Olympics includes the parade of regions just like the parade of nations at the Olympics.
The bowling competition began early Saturday morning at Saw Mill Lanes in Columbus. Each bowler was required to bowl two games. The total pins of both games were the athletes score. The bowler with the highest score would win the gold. Polly Brown missed the gold by two pins but was very happy to win silver.
Polly is the daughter of Paul and Wendi Brown of Windham, Ohio.
