Moses Lake hosting Special Olympics bocce regionals

MOSES LAKE — The Washington Special Olympics East Regional Bocce competition is set to be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the games set to be hosted at Cascade Park in Moses Lake. With this, the Moses Lake Scorpions are both preparing to host and compete this weekend.  

“I’m feeling really good going in,” said Shane Lunderville, the Scorpions Bocce Head Coach. “We’re really excited. I think Cascade Valley is a good place; it seems to be fitting what we need for all our courts.” 

The eastern regionals are looking to have a strong attendance this year, with around 140 athletes set to compete. Lunderville said the Scorpions are looking to get in a couple more days of practice to be at their best come Saturday morning.

This year’s regionals also will see an increase in number of courts going from 12 last year to about 18 courts needed for this Saturday. 

Due to air quality conditions in the area, the Scorpions have not had the opportunity to practice for about three weeks. As outdoor conditions improved in the past week, the Scorpions once again got out with the main focus being to improve their mental strength, said the coach. 

“I want to encourage them to make it all the way through the game because the game can always change with the last ball throw,” said Lunderville. “Sometimes we get discouraged and that all changes with one last ball. If I can (encourage them), that will give them some endurance to keep going through the whole game strong, even if they’re behind.” 

The coach said he is feeling very confident in the abilities of the Scorpions players going into this weekend.  

“With this group I was able to get more game time versus skill adjustment so that just allowed them to have a more realistic aspect of the game itself,” said Lunderville. 

Returning from the USA Games with a gold medal earlier this summer has also helped bring up the team’s confidence heading into regionals. 

“This is what you can have; you just have to keep playing hard and see what you can do,” said the coach. “Some real excitement within bocce right now.” 

Lunderville was selected to officiate for the regional event through his experience at the USA games. In his place, Lunderville’s wife and assistant coach Ruth Ann will be stepping into the head coaching role for the Scorpions during the regional competition. 

As he prepares to tackle officiating and hosting this year’s regional competition, Lunderville said he is anticipating a busy weekend. 

“I’m going to be extra busy because I’m going to be helping set up and take it down,” said Lunderville.  

Regionals will have two parts to the competition with an individual session in the morning and doubles and teams in the afternoon. Lunderville said these sessions are also split into divisions by skill level. 

The Scorpions roster will mostly be participating in the individuals division but will have two teams competing.  

The air quality for this weekend is on track to improve ahead of Saturday’s competition and with the only other concern for the athletes being the hot temperatures forecast. The coach said they have already made arrangements for cooling tents to ensure the athletes' safety. 

As the competition approaches, Lunderville said they are still in need of volunteers to help with the event. Those interested in volunteering can still sign up as of Friday at specialolympicswashington.org. 

    Members of the Scorpions bocce team stand outside Walmart during a fundraiser earlier this summer. The team enters the weekend with strong confidence after earning gold at the USA Games earlier this summer.