Cleveland Phillis loves the chance to try a new sport. He’s learned to play tennis, softball, golf, track and field, volleyball and skiing — all thanks to a Special Olympics Chicago program.
And on Tuesday, the 32-year-old got to shoot an arrow and kayak for the first time.
“I like that I get to do all kinds of different sports,” Phillis said.
Phillis was one of 30 people from Special Olympics summer camps around the city who came to Northerly Island for a day of kayaking, archery and fishing.
Special Olympics Chicago offers year-round sports training, hosts competitions and organizes summer camps. It has programs in 24 Chicago Park District locations citywide.
The Adventure Club involved Special Olympics campers from three city parks: Bessemer, Douglass and Mann.
The park district has hosted Adventure Club for two years. The idea came from needing socially distanced, outdoor activities for campers during the pandemic, said Eileen Guinane, the Special Olympics coordinator for the Chicago Park District.
“Many of them don’t have opportunities like this. I’ve watched some go from being scared in the water to confidently paddling their boats,”Guinane said. “Regardless of where they’re from in the city, we are here to serve everybody and give them a great opportunity.”
Adventure Club runs for six weeks every Tuesday during the summer. Each week, three summer camps from parks around the city come to Northerly Island. Participants are both children and adults, anywhere from 6 years old to 80.
The campers have varying needs. Some need hand-over-hand help, others are fully independent, Guinane said.
“This has opened the door for so many of our athletes to try something new. Because of this, we had our first archery competition in August,” she said. “These athletes love to compete, to set goals, and we make sure they’re able to do that.”
On her first try at the archery range, Briana Lee, 31, shot a bulls-eye.
“It’s really fun, and it felt good to get the bull’s-eye,” Lee said. “It’s cool to learn a new sport, and archery is fun and a bit of a challenge.”
Lee said she has tried kayaking and she was excited to get back on the water.
“I was scared the first time, but this time. I’m not,” Lee said.
She said she had the confidence to try new things thanks to her camp coordinator, Morgan Montoya.
“She really encourages us to do things, to try,” Lee said.
Montoya has been with the Special Olympics program for nine years.
“We give them a chance to do anything because they can,” Montoya said. “A lot of people assume they can’t, but here we are proving them wrong.”
Anthony Walker, 34, also shot his first arrow Tuesday.
“This is pretty cool. I’m having a great time, I’m looking forward to trying a new sport,” Walker said. “I think this is all kind of awesome.”
