A lot of hard work is about to pay off for a group of Central Oregonians.

After weeks of practice on snowshoes, skis and snowboards, dozens of Special Olympians from across the state will be converging on Mount Bachelor this weekend to compete in the Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) 2013 Winter State Games for snow sports.

The annual event is slated for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Mt. Bachelor ski area. Approximately 200 participants, including some 20 from SOOR’s High Desert chapter, are expected to take part in snowboarding, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing competitions. Dozens of volunteers, including coaches and event staff, will be on hand to assist with the races.

This year’s contingent from the High Desert chapter — which serves residents of Deschutes and Crook counties — ranges in age from 22 to 57. The group is a little smaller than in the recent past, but at least one member is feeling confident heading into the games.

“We’re looking pretty good,” said Darren Laughlin, 44 and of Bend, a snowshoer. “We’re pretty awesome.”

The smaller size of this year’s group has been a boon, in particular, to the alpine skiers and one snowboarder on the team. Those athletes, High Desert chapter local program coordinator Jill Simmons said, have enjoyed an almost 1-to-1 ratio with coaches.

“Which is really good, because when they’re skiing down the mountain away from you, you kind of have to keep up,” Simmons observed. “When the athlete can go faster than the coach … they’ve had that happen several times this year. They’ve got some fast skiers and athletes who are just bombing down the hill past them.”

Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) is an organization that provides competitive and sports opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. According to its website, SOOR serves 10,000 Special Olympians and offers 14 Olympic-style sports in the summer, fall and winter seasons.

This winter, in addition to the snow sports competition at Mt. Bachelor, SOOR staged winter regional games events in basketball this past weekend in Springfield and Turner. And on the weekend following the Winter State Games here in Central Oregon, powerlifting competition will be staged in Roseburg, and more basketball regional games will take place in Beaverton and Hillsboro.

As for the Mt. Bachelor event, Friday is a practice day. Competition will take place from approximately 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Typically, participants compete in divisions based on age, gender and ability level.

In between the competitions up at the mountain, on Saturday, Summit High School in Bend will serve as the site of the opening ceremonies and always-popular dinner and dance, which Laughlin described as “totally awesome.”

“You see all your friends that you met on the mountain,” he said.

At a recent practice session, while his teammates milled around him before setting off for the slopes and trails, High Desert alpine skier Bob Arata stated his goal for the upcoming competition.

“I’m going to try and go for the gold,” the 57-year-old Bend resident said.

Medals were on the minds of some of his teammates as well. Snowshoer Jordan Estrada, 27, mentioned that she wanted to get some medals, and cross-country skier Kristel Wieglenda, 31, said she is anticipating the medal ceremony, “because they hand us out medals.”

At least for Laughlin, Wieglenda provided one of the memorable moments of this season when she performed some acrobatics on her skis out on the nordic trails.

“Oh my gosh, Kristel, she did a 360 on the hill, down that hill,” Laughlin recalled.

Wieglenda injured her ankle in the process, but she has been on the mend. As of that late-February practice, she was still wearing a brace, she said, but she was out and about with her teammates on snowshoes instead of skis — she had forgotten them, she said.

The Winter Games make for a much-anticipated weekend — and not just for those who are competing.

“My favorite part … is watching them race,” Simmons said. “I just love cheering the athletes on and just being able to holler and stand at the end and get excited with them when they win. The athletes get so excited, and getting a medal or a ribbon is just the best thing that could have happened to them that day.

“It’s a good experience to watch.”