Special Olympians compete for Illinois
Southland students compete in Forza race, play together afterward
As Jack Klawitter virtually zipped around Watkins Glen International in a stock car while playing Forza Motorsport 7 on his Xbox One, his mother, Brook, was on the edge of her seat.
“I was more nervous than I’ve been with anything he’s done,” she said.
That is saying a lot, as Brook Klawitter has frequently watched Jack, a 14-year-old from Frankfort, compete in basketball, softball, swimming, golf, track and field, and bowling, as well as participate in drama and speech, the Choose to Include club, and the Youth Activation Committee. Jack added with a laugh that he does parkour, too, and it has been hard to be away from all of those activities during the pandemic.
“I’m missing playing sports,” he said.
But this was no usual Saturday full of video games to pass the time at home for Jack. On Saturday, he joined fellow Southlanders Stephanie Lopez and Leukiy Fawbush, as well as Streamwood’s E.J. Davis, in representing Illinois in Microsoft’s 2020 Special Olympics Xbox Virtual Gaming Event featuring Forza.
While Jack ultimately took seventh place with 4 points over two races, he qualified for Division 5 (the fastest of the bunch) after trading in his usual WWE and basketball video games for less than three full weeks of racing practice. All in all, he was happy with the experience.
“It was good,” he said. Both Jack and his mom noted the past few months have been tough, staying at home like much of the world over concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Inperson Special Olympics Illinois events were canceled over that stretch, and that was particularly tough on Jack, who has participated in the organization’s programs since the age of 2, according to Brook Klawitter.
“To have the abrupt shutoff of Special Olympics — it’s all he’s ever known,” she said.
Video games have helped Jack stay in touch with friends throughout the pandemic. And
this tournament, in particular, was special because it gave him nearly three weeks of practicing with his teammates. It was a process he could navigate independently, and family and friends — along with roughly 4,000 concurrent spectators via YouTube, Mixer and Twitch — were able to see Jack compete from home, Brook said.
“Getting kids together is and was the most important aspect of it,” said Mac Dougan, Special Olympics Illinois assistant director of development. “At the very minimum, if that’s all we did, it was a success.”
Dougan said it was fun for him to see the athletes on the screen, learn about the cars, watch a close race and know the Special Olympics were reaching such a large audience online.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around how awesome it was,” Dougan said. “It was just fun.”
Out of 35 total athletes representing 11 programs across the country, three of the four Illinois racers qualified for Division 5. Klawitter was joined by teammates E.J. Davis and Stephanie Lopez for the races at Watkins Glen and Road America, as well as two competitors from Indiana
who made it a Midwestheavy field. Davis and Lopez tied with 9 points for fifth and sixth place, respectively, with their qualifying positions serving as tiebreaker.
In Division 1, Leukiy Fawbush finished seventh with 5 points.
“It was a little hard with the turning,” Fawbush said.
Typically a Mario player, Fawbush, a 16-year-old from Homewood, said he practiced for the competition for roughly a month before competing.
“It was fun,” he said. Fawbush’s father, Jason Bizjak, added the family had a great time watching the event through Twitch. He said it was particularly cool to see his son’s picture on screen during the broadcast.
The award ceremony took place in the virtual world of Minecraft, and Fawbush said playing around in that space was what he enjoyed most about the event, noting competitors got to run, jump and throw snowballs at each other.
“It was pretty cool,” he said. “I got to fly in the air and look at how high I was.”
Lopez agreed that Minecraft was the best part. The 15-year-old from Chicago Ridge who attends Richards High School said she loves to build things and take part in challenges within Minecraft. She has played the game for years, but getting to play Saturday as part of a Special Olympics program was a highlight.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “A great time.”
And for a student involved with Youth Activation, gymnastics, soccer, baseball, track and field, and Student Council — “she loves to be part of everything,” according to her mother, Kathleen Lopez — it was a nice chance to get together virtually with fellow Olympians after months of social distancing.
While Stephanie Lopez admitted she was “a little scared and nervous” about the race itself — similar to her teammates, Stephanie does not usually play racing games but practiced for two weeks to get ready — knowing so many people were watching was exciting.
“I was like a movie star,” Stephanie said.
Kathleen Lopez echoed Brook Klawitter’s sentiments when reflecting on the experience.
“It was pretty exciting and nerve-racking, watching,” she said.
The excitement was palpable for the entire family, which found itself glued to screens during the event, according to Stephanie’s father, Peter.
“We were just on the tip of our chairs,” he said. “We’re still all charged up about it.”
Stephanie’s sister, Hailey, said she was jumping the whole time.
“It was exciting and fun,” she said. “I was proud of her.”
Peter Lopez said what Special Olympics and Microsoft did in putting together this event was a “beautiful” thing that will stick with Stephanie.
“This was a gift for her that she’ll never forget,” he said.
The first gaming tournament Xbox held in conjunction with Special Olympics took place at the 2018 USA Games in Seattle. There, athletes from four states took part in head-to-head competition at the University of Washington. In a press release, Special Olympics Illinois noted that in trying to come up with something to do during stay-at-home orders, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit the partnership.
Dougan added that through the creation of adaptive controllers and events such as this, Microsoft has proven to be a great partner.
“They’re very inclusive in gaming for all,” he said.
In addition to providing competition for the Special Olympians, the livestream was an opportunity to showcase the athletes’ stories to the world. And because of the opportunities such as this that e-sports provide, Dougan said Special Olympics Illinois plans to explore that realm more going forward.
“We’re excited for the possibility and potential,” he said.
Those who missed the event can find it on the Xbox YouTube page, where it had garnered more than 81,000 views as of Tuesday. Gamers also can donate their Microsoft Points to help Special Olympics athletes. Microsoft is matching all point donations through June 30.
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.