Dozens of athletes are going for the gold in the Quad Cities.
Highland Park Bowl in Moline hosted the Special Olympics Illinois Area 4 Bowling Competition on Sunday, October 6th, 2013.
"It's all about them showing the world what they can do," says Cathy Betar, Area Director of Special Olympics Illinois Area 4. "It's not about their disability. This is about their ability and we hope that people will come out and see this and see what our athletes actually are capable of doing. If they can compete in sports, they can compete in other things in life as well."
260 athletes from 7 counties throughout western Illinois competed in divisions based on ability to win gold medals and advance to sectionals, which take place on November 2nd in Galesburg, Illinois. If they win there, they'll move onto the state competition in Peoria, Illinois on December 7th.
"They're very accomplished," says Betar. "Most of these folks bowl in leagues year-round and they just love it."
"Our goal is to serve more athletes. We hope that by us getting TV coverage that somebody else will see it and say - 'Hey, I want to do that.' We'd love to have more athletes in our program."
For more information on Special Olympics Illinois, click here.