CARRABASSETT VALLEY — There were many hugs and hurrahs for nearly 500 participants at the annual Special Olympics Maine Winter Games at Sugarloaf on Monday.

A forecast of snow for Tuesday shortened the three-day event to two — everyone was leaving by 6:30 p.m. Monday — but it didn’t dampen spirits as Olympians competed in skating, snowshoeing and skiing.

“The Olympians are doing double time today,” Lisa Bird, director of public relations for Special Olympics Maine, told those at the opening ceremony.

The oldest and the youngest athletes were excited after they helped light the torch, the Flame of Hope, during the noon ceremony. The youngest Olympian present, Deshawna Averill, 9, of Boothbay, and the oldest, James Reed, 72, of Cornish, were assisted by Detective Lt. Tom Harriman of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Department.

Participants made their time trial runs Monday morning and were heading for final runs in the afternoon.

An early dinner and awards program were held Monday. The usual Monday night dance and fireworks were cancelled.

The Touring Center stayed open Sunday night for free skating, karaoke, a bonfire and some dancing, Bird said.

This followed “the largest potluck dinner” in Maine, according to Charlotte Underwood, who registers athletes. People and groups from around the Carrabassett Valley area provide food for Sunday night after the athletes arrive.

Making the decision Sunday to leave Monday night meant board members and volunteers rushed to reorganize events, Bird said. Everyone got to participate in at least one event, she said. 

It was a lot of work but all are happy, Underwood said. They have to make sure each athlete is in a fair heat for their capability, she said.

For Amy Letalier of South China, who had just won her 50-meter run on snowshoes, the lost day didn’t matter. The excitement of winning and a hug from volunteer Cathy Bond of Winslow afterward were enough.

Other snowshoers waited for Michael Baribeau of Brunswick to lower the red flag and they were off.

Standing in the 1-degree cold with icicles forming on his mustache, Baribeau said he has volunteered for 15 years and loves it. He started when his son’s Boy Scout troop came to help and just kept on volunteering. Now he serves as a Special Olympics Maine board member and helps with fundraising and the Summer Olympic games.

“The Special Olympics is expanding events all the time for the good of the athlete,” he said. 

Over at the Outdoor Center, volunteers led cross country skiing and skating races. Inside, eight members of the Wilton Lions Club arrived at 6 a.m. to provide snacks and hot soup for the athletes.

Several Wilton- and Farmington-area businesses give a donation or food, and some restaurants in Carrabassett Valley provided soup, member Robert Fast said.

“We’ve done it for 20 years,” he said.

State game wardens helped athletes put on snowshoes and did other helpful tasks. State and area police were also among the many volunteers who returned to the games to to help and cheer.

The Winter Games have been held at Sugarloaf since 1982.

Underwood said that each year one county’s Special Olympians have to stay home, because there are not enough beds for everyone, even with all the condos on the mountain.

This year, knitters and crocheters from all over the state and some out of state prepared a scarf of their own design and using the same colors for each athlete, she said.

During the opening ceremony, Carrabassett Valley Town Manager Dave Cota and Sugarloaf President John Diller welcomed the athletes.

Snowboarder Seth Wescott of Carrabassett Valley, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, led athletes in the Special Olympian oath: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

abryant@sunjournal.com