Bracing weather for winter games

Hundreds of Special Olympians gather at Mountain Creek, Vernon — Special Olympics 2010 Winter Games kicked off Monday, Feb. 1 at Mountain Creek with pomp and flash. Ceremonies took place at the base of the mountain, including a parade of athletes, the Special Olympics torch being skiied down the mountain and fireworks. The Games are a six-sport culminating event of the winter season, and include events held at Skylands Ice World in Stockholm. Mountain Creek hosted two full days of competition on Tuesday and Wednesday, featuring alpine and cross country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. Figure and speed skating competitions were held Tuesday only at Skylands Ice World. All events were free and open to the public, which was encouraged to come out and cheer on the competitors. For more information on the event and on Special Olympics New Jersey, visit www.sonj.org.

Winter Games is one of four statewide competitions staged by Special Olympics New Jersey throughout the year. More than 18,000 athletes train and compete year-round at the local, sectional and state level in 24 sports.