Jim Tucker officiating at international Special Olympics event - 2009-02-06

CONTACT: Kenneth Aaron, director of communications, (518) 327-6297

PAUL SMITHS, N.Y. – When Special Olympic snowshoers from across the planet
converge in Idaho on Sunday, a Paul Smith's College staff member will be
there to help run the competition.

Jim Tucker, the college's recreation and intramural coordinator, is part of
the six-person crew that will cover snowshoe races at the ninth Special
Olympics World Winter Games. The snowshoeing event will run from Sunday,
Feb. 8, through Thursday, Feb. 12.

About 290 athletes from 50 countries are expected to compete in the
competition, which is being held at Ponderosa State Park in McCall, Idaho.
Races in 10 distances are scheduled.

"It's hard for me to fathom 50-some nations sending folks to Idaho to
participate in snowshoeing," said Tucker, who has participated in the sport
for many years. He has been involved with the Special Olympics since 1997,
when he first helped organize a regional winter competition on campus, but
this is the first international event he has partaken of.

This is the ninth Special Olympics World Winter Games, which have been held
every four years since 1977. More than 2,500 athletes from more than 100
countries are expected at this year's event, which will run from Feb. 7
until Friday, Feb. 13.

At Paul Smith’s College, it’s about the experience. The college, whose
campus is on the shores of Lower St. Regis Lake, is the only four-year
institution of higher education in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park of New
York State. Our programs, in fields including hospitality, culinary arts,
forestry, natural resources, entrepreneurship, the sciences, and many
others, draw on industries and resources available in our own backyard while
preparing students for successful careers anywhere.

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