Baldwin High School's stadium usually houses battles between the Highlanders and their opponents, but this weekend it will be home to the Allegheny County Special Olympics summer games.

"It started 20 years ago when it first came to Baldwin with just a handful of students helping," Joe Murray, Special Olympics Club faculty advisor, said.

"Every year, we've gotten more and more students involved."

Murray has been organizing the Special Olympics at Baldwin since it came to the school. He said the club formed because there were kids that wanted to be a part of the program throughout the year. The club has about 50 members.

But nearly 100 students work at the games from other clubs, making the event a school effort. Thirty Baldwin High School students will compete in the games this year.

The Special Olympics offers people with disabilities an opportunity to compete in athletics, providing year-round training. It offers about 30 winter and summer sports and serves 2.5 million people worldwide.

Over the last five years, the Special Olympics have expanded by more than 1 million athletes, according to the organization's website, www.special [1] olympics.org. Each year, the event brings in more than 400 athletes and teams from Allegheny County, competing in the high school's stadium and upper fields. They compete in about 50 events.

"The Special Olympics have been here so long, it feels like it is a part of Baldwin," Junior Leah Grosse said.

Grosse joined the club during her freshman year, but became more active this year after being involved in the partner's gym class, which is similar to the Special Olympics. Students in the class are teamed up with an athlete and participate in athletic events together.

"In the class, we work with the athletes," Grosse said. "It runs parallel with the games, and it really feels good to get out and see it all happen."

Junior Nick Teslovich has been a member of the club since his sophomore year.

Teslovich said all the work getting ready for the games is nothing compared to the satisfaction of seeing how happy it makes the athletes, especially after seeing some of them in training.

"One of the athletes, Dusty, has been working with us during our volleyball games," Teslovich said. "All the time people put into preparing for the games and seeing them compete is great."

Students cover the majority of the volunteering, watching finish lines, keeping times and handing out awards. The abundance of volunteers keeps the games running smoothly, which Murray attributes to the event's tenure at Baldwin.

"The games were, on average, an hour to an hour and a half behind schedule (before they came to Baldwin)," Murray said.

"We're very organized and have a schedule maintained, and, if anything, we get ahead of schedule, because our students do a great job at running the games."

The day is about more than just competition, the club makes sure there are several non-competitive extras such the Funfest, which features different games, dancing and entertainment.

"The summer games is different because it's an all-day event," Grosse said. "We have different things, like dancing, and it makes for a really nice day. There is a lot of extras going on for the athletes."

At the end of the day, Grosse said the club's efforts pay off.

"It's the best feeling to be at the games and help," Grosse said. "You get to see some of the happiest faces in the entire world."