Plunging Pirates get set for frigid fund-raiser
By Lori Berkey Contributing Writer

Members of the Plunging Pirates team are (l to r) Brianna Docimo, Emily Docimo, Scott Ayers, David Steinmetz, Colin Davidson, Sam Kafel and Jeff King. Team members not pictured include Bob Bayless, Donna Sargent, George Burns, Mary Brennan, Melissa Gallo, Stephanie Leonard, Tarik Kafel and Elizabeth Abro. PHOTO/LORI BERKEY

Region - Five years ago Special Olympics athlete Colin Davidson of Northborough was a one-man team on a roster of squads who plunged into the frigid waters of Nantasket Beach in Hull for the Special Olympics Massachusetts annual winter Passion Plunge fund-raiser.

Colin has participated in the event each year since and has built a growing team that now boasts about 20 members and dubs itself the Plunging Pirates. Last year, his team raised $26,000 for the local Shrewsbury Special Olympics program, an amount that enabled the program to waive the activity fees for Special Olympics participants. The Plunging Pirates are currently raising funds again and are set to get wet Saturday Feb. 16 in this year's event.

Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition to athletes with intellectual disabilities. The Shrewsbury program also holds social events and serves as a supportive network for families, helping athletes and family members form lasting friendships.

The Plunging Pirates have stories about how Special Olympics has affected their lives.

Jeff King, a Shrewsbury eighth-grader, is plunging for his second consecutive year. His brother is a Special Olympics athlete and King said he wants to support the program that helps his brother and other athletes succeed.

Scott Ayres of Shrewsbury is suiting up in gratitude for how the program has benefited his family.

"The program has given my nephew the opportunity to achieve so many goals that without the program he wouldn't have been able to do," Ayres said.

Plunging sisters Emily and Brianna Docimo play sports on Shrewsbury High School teams and enjoy partnering with Special Olympics athletes to teach them what they know. Brianna said she enjoys seeing some of the athletes at school.

Plunging brothers Sam and Tarik Kafel of Shrewsbury also serve as partners in Special Olympics. Sam loves to see the joy the athletes experience during competitions.

"I play basketball and soccer also, so when they get a basket or a goal or something they get really excited, so it's really fun to see them do [well]," Sam said.

Sam and Tarik's mother, Donna Kafel, said the program has helped her boys learn to take their time and teach others.

"It's a win-win situation," she said. "It helps the partners; it helps the athletes. It's just a great organization."

Colin's mother, Virginia Davidson, is the Plunging Pirate's team agent. She's been involved with Special Olympics for 14 years, ever since Colin started playing sports with the program. She currently co-chairs the Shrewsbury program and, on the state level, she chairs the president's Family Advisory Committee and is on the Special Olympics Massachusetts Board of Directors.

The best part of her involvement, Virginia said, is "realizing that people with intellectual disabilities can do so much more than they can't do, and that their expectations are only raised higher and higher the more time you spend in the program."

She also values the fellowship.

"The family members that I've met have become our family members," she said. "It is one big family."

According to Virginia, the Plunging Pirates team is also supported by Northborough business owner Tom Lowe, who she said has raised "hundreds and hundreds of dollars" for the team.

To donate to the Plunging Pirates or another Passion Plunge team, visit www.specialolympicsma. org. For more information about Shrewsbury Special Olympics, visit http:// www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/ parkrec/special.asp.