Track and dance ensure active weekend afternoon

Michael Parker had a busy Saturday.

First there was the standing long jump, followed by the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter walk.

Then came the dancing.

Parker, a 29-year-old Spokane Valley man, spent Saturday morning competing in the Special Olympics spring games in Spokane. Then he changed and performed as part of a hip-hop routine at DanceFest, a celebration of National Dance Week.

Parker didn’t have any trouble making it from one event to the other – both were at Spokane Community College.

“I always saw people dancing on TV, and I wanted to try it,” Parker said. “And I’m doing good with it.”

Parker was 8 when he first participated in the Special Olympics, and he’s done them every year since. Saturday’s spring games drew about 650 participants from Eastern Washington. The top finishers in events including track and field, swimming and cycling will advance to the state games – which are followed by national and world Special Olympics games.

Parker’s guardian and grandmother, Pauline Neill, said he likes the games and they’re good for him. Parker has Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder that leads to developmental disabilities and an insatiable appetite, among other things. He lives on his own, with some help.

“He’s done extremely well,” Neill said, standing off to the side of the track while Parker prepared for the 400-meter walk.

Alan Kazemba, coach of Spokane Valley Knights for 10 years, said competing in the games is a big social event for athletes like Parker.

“This is so much excitement for him,” he said. “We’re like a big family.”

Dance is a more recent development for Parker. Neill said he took some dance lessons as a boy but quit for several years before being invited back to Gail’s School of Dance a couple of years ago. Last year was his first DanceFest, and on Saturday he was one of scores of young people who performed in the Lair at SCC.

“Now, of course, he won’t quit,” Neill said.