Page 5 - MidWeek Windward - June 2, 2021
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Kamali‘i Koa Gears Up For ‘Return To Play’ Season With Bocce
JUNE 2, 2021 5
BY LIANNE BIDAL THOMPSON
They’ll be competing in Special Olympics Hawai‘i’s Return to Play season, which according to O‘ahu regional director for Special Olympics Hawai‘i Nikki Antenucci, runs through July and will feature a series of area bocce competitions.
It’s early on a Saturday morning and the athletes gathered around three bocce courts at Kāne‘ohe District Park’s back field are focused.
These athletes are the Spe- cial Olympians of the Kama- li‘i Koa delegation. The group is comprised of members from Waimānalo to Hau‘ula, and this practice is a welcome chance to see each other in person after the pandemic-re- lated restrictions have kept them apart for the past year.
“(Special Olympics) gives them acceptance, so they can be themselves,” Fukumitsu says.
“It helps them form friend- ships,” Inouye adds.
Delegation volunteers Joy Fukumitsu, Joy Inouye, Nan- cy Wong and Cindy Shimazu — along with others — pro- vide logistical support so that the athletes can concentrate on their practices.
Practices are 8:30-9:30 a.m. Saturdays at Kāne‘ohe District Park, and they always welcome volunteers and do- nations of personal protective equipment (PPE) to support the athletes. For more infor- mation on Special Olympics Hawai‘i, visit sohawaii.org.
(Clockwise from top left) Team Kamali‘i Koa members include (first row) Nicole Inouye, Kelli Shizuma, Jasmine Humalon, (second row) Marina Park, Kyle Fukumitsu, Sean Hively, Mark Sterlacci, (third row) Kihaola Greene, Ezekiel Hoopiiaina and Chris Toyama; Ezekiel Hoopiiaina throws the bocce ball; Cindy Shimazu, who established Kamali‘i Koa, supervises the team’s practice; Sean Hively throws the ball, as his partner Chris Toyama and the opposing team, Mark Sterlacci and Kyle Fukumitsu, looks on. LIANNE BIDAL THOMPSON PHOTOS
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