Everyone enjoyed opening day during May for the Beautiful People baseball league in Orange County. Following the lifting of COVID restrictions, players were able to have some outdoor fun, see old friends, meet other players for the first time and return to the large grass field, the rubberized field and the tee-ball field.

Beautiful People is pleased, as we all are, to begin to place the pandemic far away from the ballpark. The 14-year-old charity unites athletes, parents and volunteers. It is part of the national adaptive baseball Miracle League. The local organization recently added soccer, basketball and cheerleading to its programs.

For some athletes, such as Parimala, this was their first time on these ball fields and possibly their initial exposure to baseball. Meanwhile, a boy in a Day-Glo orange shirt quickly donned a helmet, clutched his bat and ran with old friends toward one of the fields. Elsa, a black lab service dog accompanied nine-year-old Kenny to most places on the field but stood back and only watched as the boy spun his motorized wheelchair to catch the ball when he played first base.

The 120 athletes in the league are from towns throughout Orange but also from Sullivan County and New Jersey. They have autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other health concerns. The games are not just for children. Since programs for older youth and adults are limited, the players’ ages range from six to 32.

Beautiful People attempted a variety of virtual programs over the last year. Some were more successful than other online activities. The goal was to keep the community engaged during the pandemic and provide a vital outlet and release for the athletes and their parents.

COVID reduced the number of “buddies” to shadow the players now that they are back on the field. The preferred ratio of adults to players at Beautiful People is one-to-one but that is not possible right now. The loss of volunteers is an issue that all nonprofits have endured during the pandemic. League organizers hope the ratio quickly will adjust during the coming months.

It’s one step at a time, with the first day on the fields on a warm Sunday featuring plenty of whoops and cheers.

It’s nice to be back!

The last year affected high school sports across the country. Games on the field, on the court and on the ice were postponed, rescheduled or cancelled. The pool, too, was not immune to the effects of the virus.

The girls swim team at Our Lady of Lourdes High School is grateful to nearby Beacon High School. The latter opened its pool to swimmers from four Dutchess County high schools while many schools and colleges closed pools to outsiders.

“From the bottom of my heart thank you very much” [for saving the season], said Lourdes senior swimmer Katie Thorn about Beacon’s coaches and school officials. “I don’t think they understand how much it meant to us to swim again. The swim team is like a family.”

Girls swimming is a fall sport in New York. The season was moved to March as schedules were juggled due to the pandemic. Lourdes competes in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The team was permitted 90 minutes for practices or meets six days per week at the public high school. Quarantine for an extended period always was a concern but the team avoided this obstacle.

The six days in the water provided the girls with some sense of normalcy during this unusual time. While the Warriors lost the first four meets, the team completed the dual-meet season with a 4-6 record.

All dual and invitational swimming meets were conducted virtually. Masks were worn until swimmers were on the starting blocks. Swimmers competed in their home pools with times entered into a computer system to determine individual and team winners. The season allowed four Lourdes swimmers to qualify for individual events and the Lourdes relays at the Section 1 championships.

“It was an odd season,” concluded one-time Lourdes swimmer and third-year head coach Tom Bubel. A very common statement during an unusual year that has been repeated thousands of times nationwide by athletes, parents, coaches and officials.