Spirits ran high Thursday at the 20th annual Bowker Games, a track and field event for students with disabilities from Aztec and Southwest Colorado.
The event, often called “Southwest Colorado’s version of the Special Olympics,” took place at Escalante Middle School and included 50-, 100- and 200-meter races; standing and long jump competitions; and field events like the beanbag drop, softball throw and tennis ball drop.
Students were invited from Aztec, Bayfield, Cortez, Dolores, Ignacio, Mancos, Pagosa Springs, Durango, Dove Creek and Silverton. More than 230 kids showed up, said Billy Bowker, event founder, organizer and race-caller.
Bowker, who is a former Escalante staff member and physical education teacher, launched the games in 2006 out of a desire to provide a dedicated field day experience to the region’s students with disabilities.
“This is something that kids look forward to every year,” he said. “... It brings joy to the kids. It brings joy to me. ... But it’s their day. It’s all about them.”
Bayfield High School 11th grader Kevin Ball and 10th grader Dylan Wilson ran several races Thursday, including one of the 100-meter dash heats.
“My favorite part is running and cheering on people,” said Ball, who has been competing in the games for the past four years.
Wilson said those are his favorite parts, too.
Park Elementary School fifth grader Kora Dosch competed in another heat of the 100-meter dash using her mobility aid.
“It’s so fun,” she said after crossing the finish line and being awarded a medal.
Hillary, Kora’s mom, said Kora loves being active, and the Bowker Games, which Kora has competed in since she was in second grade, are a great opportunity for her to spend time with her friends.
“It’s so special that they provide this opportunity for them,” she said. “... She loves it so much. And (she) likes winning medals, too.”
Planning the event involves months of hard work and the help of dedicated volunteers, Bowker said – but it’s all worth it to see the joy the games bring students.
“It touches my heart to see the smile on these kids’ faces and the expressions, and some kids will just want to – year after year – run every heat and every race,” he said.
The community rallies around the event each year, Bowker said. San Juan BOCES donates the gold medals that every competing student is awarded; the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4031 lend helping hands; Smoke Ring BBQ supplies food – which the Durango High School basketball team helps serve – and Centura Health workers staff the races to make sure everyone is feeling healthy and cared for. A coordinator from Durango School District also helped Bowker seek a grant for the event that funded water bottles, he said.
Erica Schatz, Bowker’s stepdaughter and a Durango Medicare employee, volunteered at the finish line and donated Bowker Games scarves and hats.
Kevin Jagger has volunteered at the Bowker Games for the past six years, helping at the starting and finish lines and lending a hand in any way he can. He said seeing the joy the students get from the event is what keeps him coming back year after year.
“It’s good for the heart,” he said. “My first two years volunteering, I cried. You see the kids? They’re all smiling.”
Dewey Waldron has been volunteering even longer – for more than 10 years. Seeing the same kids come back year after year is one of his favorite parts of helping out at the event, he said.
Some students have participated in the event each year from kindergarten through graduation, Bowker said.
Fifteen volunteers signed up this year to help put on the event – the biggest number to date, he said.
“This wouldn’t happen without the volunteers,” he said.
Brothers Josiah and Joaiden Hight from Southern Ute Indian Montessori Academy ran several races side-by-side Thursday. It was their first time participating in the games.
“My favorite part is that I run fast and get to do it with my brother,” Josiah said.
Fourteen-year-old Jase Mills from Pagosa Springs, who is nonverbal, competed in several race heats in his wheelchair with the help of his special education paraprofessional aide, Junior Lister.
Lister, who has been working with Jase for the past three years, said it gladdens him to see so many of the region’s special education students come together for the event.
“(They’re) competitive, and they’re having fun,” he said. “My (favorite) part is seeing all the kids – and I think that’s what makes (Jase) happy, too.”
Two decades in, Bowker has no plans to stop bringing joy to the region’s special education community each year through the event.
“They (the students) look so forward to it each and every year, and that's why I do it,” he said. “I’m going to keep on doing it for as long as I can.”
epond@durangoherald.com
