Special Olympics Skier
Selected for World Games
By Sandy Vondrasek

Misha Aronson of Randolph qualified to go on in the Special Olympics. Misha needed some good news; his home burned down just two weeks ago.

For the last two weeks, it’s been one wild ride for 13-year-old Misha Aronson of Randolph.

March 14-16, the young alpine skier participated for the first time in the Special Olympics Vermont Winter Games, held at Suicide Six in Woodstock. Competing in three events—downhill, giant slalom, and slalom—Misha brought home three medals, a bronze, a silver, and a gold, in the novice level.

Tired after the big event, Misha was already asleep at about 9 p.m., that Sunday night, March 16, when his parents rushed him and his sister Sasha, 11, out of their smoky Fish Hill Road home. Their house was subsequently destroyed in the fire, and the family’s possessions, and a young cat, were lost.

For Misha and his family, there followed a tough week, as they struggled to deal with the loss and the logistics of change.

This week brought a new flash of joy.

Misha learned Tuesday that he has been selected as one of three athletes to represent Vermont, as part of Team USA, at the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, Feb. 6-13 in Boise, Idaho, at the Tamarack Resort.

According to his Special Olympics coach Debbie Boyce, Misha will be one of 3000 athletes from 85 nations at the world games.

Boyce told Misha the good news midday Tuesday.

"He’s very excited," she said.

Boyce, a special education case manager at Randolph Union High School, has been a Special Olympics volunteer for 26 years, training teams in a variety of winter and summer sports. She also trains Special Olympics coaches.

"It’s a passion," she said.

Athletes ages 8-60, with a range of intellectual disabilities, participate in Special Olympics, worldwide.

Boyce explained that all of the athletes who won gold medals—in alpine skiing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing—at the Vermont Games were eligible to be selected as one of the three Vermonters to attend the World Games. From that group, coaches selected athletes who could handle an extended trip, and the long days and big crowds of the international games.

Misha was one of two area athletes to move forward into this second group. The other was Steven Neron of Bethel/Randolph, a young adult and another alpine skier.

The three finalists were selected, by random, from this pool.

As area coach, Boyce will put together a training program for the three, starting with "dry land training" in the near future.

Special Olympians from the 50 states will attend a "training camp" in December, in preparation for the big games.

According to Boyce, who has coached teams at World Games in Ireland, and at multiple points in the U.S., including Lake Tahoe, the World Games generate a tremendous amount of energy and excitement for participants and volunteers alike.

On a local level, Special Olympics gives participants "a stepping stone" into sporting activities, and increases the likelihood that they can join community teams and enjoy life-long sports, Boyce said.

Beyond that, the Olympics deliver "a sense of belonging," a feeling of success, and most important, lots of fun, she added.

All Special Olympics athletes and their times can be found on the website, www.vtso.org.