Did they play with the grace of Wayne Gretzky? Not really. What about the ferocity of Scott Stevens? Nope. But that was never the intent.

For 20 teams of athletes gathered at IM Sports-West on Friday, the Special Olympics Area 8 Poly Hockey Tournament was more about allowing mentally impaired athletes an opportunity to compete in the sport they love - floor hockey.

“There aren’t always opportunities for them to get involved in athletics and sports training,” said Anne Goudie, Area 8 director. “The Special Olympics offers them all the benefits that the regular population derives from sports.”

An organization since 1968, Special Olympics Michigan is divided by counties into 39 programs. Area 8 is composed of Ingham and Eaton counties.

Since its creation, the Special Olympics program has been completely free to all athletes. To ensure it remains such, area directors look to the community to raise needed funds.

“It takes about $200,000 a year to sustain our program,” Goudie said. “We do rely heavily on the community for fund-raising.”

The money raised is then recycled back to the athletes in the form of new equipment, travel expenses and meals, among various other needs.

In an effort to ensure all teams an opportunity to compete in the state Poly Hockey Tournament - held at Aim High Sports in Dimondale from Nov. 17-19 - the Special Olympics requires that teams be rotated on a yearly basis.

“With poly hockey, it’s a quota-based system,” Goudie said. “Based on the number of athletes who participate in your area, determines the number of teams that move on.”

This year, Area 8 is allowed 13 teams, a group selected prior to Friday’s tournament.

“What we do to make it fair is that we do a rotation basis,” Goudie said. “So that those teams that lose a game still have the opportunity to play at the state level.”

While there is a minimum age requirement of 8 years old for those wanting to participate in competition, there is no age cap. Area 8 has some players in their 50s and 60s who compete regularly.

The Special Olympics is a volunteer organization with a lot of its volunteers having some kind of experience with special need people.

Beth Perez is one such volunteer.

A physical education teacher at Lansing’s Dwight Rich Middle School, her interest in the Special Olympics started because of the number of special need students in her class - an interest that, four years ago, led her into coaching.

“I like working with the kids,” Perez said. “I don’t get to volunteer to do too many things and this is one area I like being involved in.”

Another volunteer with Special Olympics Michigan is Chris Jones, who has assumed the role as both a parent and coach.

While attending some of his son’s sporting events, Jones was approached and asked if he would be interested in becoming a coach.

“I was pretty much standing on the sidelines when someone came up to me and asked me if I ever thought of coaching,” he said.

That was six years ago, and Jones has been coaching ever since.

Of the large number of people volunteering at the event - referees, coaches and chaperones - the Hartland High School Varsity Club might have been the most prominent.

Forty students, clad in white T-shirts, donated their time to help set up, work the scoreboard and help out the teams with whatever needs arose.

While final scores often topped out in double digits, in the end it wasn’t about winning or losing. The players were there for the opportunity to participate in the sport they love.

“I think they get a real sense of accomplishment,” Perez said.

“It’s their time to shine, to be in the spotlight.”