Washing cars to go for the gold

MOSES LAKE - Eloise Ramos stood with several coaches, players and other volunteers in a Moses Lake parking lot.

Hoses, buckets of soapy water, sponges and towels sat nearby as the participants in a Moses Lake Special Olympic team's fundraiser enjoyed a lull in the traffic coming to get their vehicles cleaned.

The group had a busy morning as they cleaned cars for donations, said Ramos, the team's head coach. They started washing cars in the O'Reilly Auto Parts parking lot at 9 a.m. Saturday. The team holds the car wash annually.

"The weather is good. It gets us all together out here," Ramos said. "We had (a car wash) earlier this year and we did well over $600 ... We spoil our kids. We've got a canopy to keep them in the shade, and ice water. We got some of the parents to bring them doughnuts and Popsicles. They're well taken care of."

The group washed boats, trucks and, last year, they washed a horse, Ramos said.

"We even had a kid go by in a wheelchair and we washed it," she said.

The money raised at the event pays for the athletes to go on trips, some of their equipment, hotels, and transportation, said Ramos and Marvin Brooks, one of the team's coaches. Presently, the team has 96 people participating in bowling. They primarily bowl in Spokane or at Lake Bowl in Moses Lake.

"What we're making here stays with the Moses Lake group," Brooks said.

Along with bowling, the group fields about 60 people for softball, between 50 to 80 athletes for track and field and about 60 people for basketball, Ramos said. The participants range from 8 years old to about 65 years old.

For each sport the athletes travel to different places, Ramos and Brooks said. They travel to Cheney for regionals and Wenatchee for the state competition for basketball. They head to Cheney for regionals and Fort Lewis for the state competition in track and field. For softball, the team goes to Tri-Cities for regional competitions.

Brooks and Ramos enjoy the athletes, with Ramos calling it a second family.

For Wayne Brooks, Marvin Brooks' son, the car wash is another part of being a member of the team. The athlete started participating when he was 8 years old, and participates on the track and field, basketball and baseball teams.

He enjoys being with friends and participating in the sports and having good sportsmanship with other team members and other teams, he said. One of his favorite memories happened a few years prior when he was at a basketball game.

"I was going against (a player who was) 7-foot, 3-inches ... That was the most fun I've had competing," he said. "It was really exciting for me because I have no sense of fear, so I would go right up and do all that I would do for the team while my team was trying to get around him."

Wayne said he took some pretty good hits during the years he has played basketball. He was glad to be able to help the team.

"When I had my ankle hurt, I had to get that fixed and they were a player short, so I had to go back in with my hurt ankle and help," he said.

Between cars coming up to be washed, Michael Hedges waited in the shade. His parents got him involved on the team about two years ago. He participates on the track and field, softball and bowling teams.

"I like how the coaches teach us what to do. The coaches are really nice. It's really fun to get out and go do practice instead of staying at home and being bored," he said. "It's fun to win medals, trying our best to win medals and having good team spirit."

He enjoyed coming out and raising money at the car wash, he said.

"(I enjoy) having fun with my friends and the athletes, the coaches and the parents," Hedges said.