‘Time For Heroes’ Is Theme for 1987 Special Olympics

The theme “A Time for Heroes” is being used to describe the 4,000 mentally retarded athletes and the thousands of coaches and volunteers expected to participate in the International Summer Special Olympics Committee’s 1987 games in South Bend.

Participants will come from all 50 states and from 67 foreign countries, organizers said Friday.

“When we speak of heroes, we don’t always speak of those in the limelight,” Ervin A. Derda, president and chairman of the ISSOC board, said at a press conference to announce the “heroes” theme.

“The description,” he said, “applies to the millions of people who have joined with us in a very supportive and very substantial way.”

The theme will also apply to families, coaches, trainers, sponsors and volunteers who comprise the Special Olympics family. Notably among the heroes is Civitan International, the service club that has pledged $1.6 million for the games.

The volunteers alone who are needed for the game will number 15,000, said Steve Gay, ISSOC executive director.

If that number seems high, it is because the need for help is that real, he said. Gay said that in addition to the athletes, there will be 10,000 to 20,000 family members arriving in South Bend, several thousand coaches and between 50,000 and 60,000 spectators at the opening ceremonies alone.

The press corps at the 1983 games in Baton Rouge, La., numbered 500 and may be twice that as the games continue to grow.

The number of countries involved is now up to 68 with the addition of the People’s Republic of China, Brazil, Austria, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Bolivia and Norway. The logistics of coordinating translation, as well as housing, transportation, medical and other supportive services will be far-ranging in complexity, he said.

Gay illustrated the scope of the games this way: “It is like

having six Notre Dame home (football) games back to back over six days, plus a mobile home show and a plate collectors convention all at once.”

All motel rooms in a radius of 40 to 50 miles will be filled, he said.