The Special Olympics Winter Games are taking place around Rochester again this year, Friday February 22nd and Saturday the 23rd.
1,000 athletes from across state will be in the area, competing in six winter sports spread out from Swain resort to the Riverside Convention Center; with sports including Alpine and cross country skiing, figure skating and snowboarding.
Stacey Hengsterman is the President and CEO of Special Olympics New York.
She says athletes train all year for these games and that while it’s of course a fierce competition, there is also plenty of great sportsmanship.
"You'll see tons of examples for fighting to the end or winning by that last second. Beating the buzzer and having the other team go over and make sure that team that lost feels good."
Hengsterman is calling on Rochestarians to support the games by cheering athletes on at one of several game locations, or sign up to volunteer.
"We've got everything else taken care of. We’ve got the officials, we've got the authentic competitions, we've got the athletes ready to go. We need local volunteers to help escort them, act like lines men, results men, spotters."
More information and how to register to volunteer can be found on the Special Olympics website.