WATERVILLE VALLEY - The first day of the winter games of the 37th Special Olympics New Hampshire was deemed a success, with dozens of medals given to athletes from around the state for myriad accomplishments.

"Of course we always want to have a first-place winner and a second-place winner for every race, but we also award other medals so that others can have the feeling of being a medal winner, too," said Anna Brennan-Curry, communications and grants manager for Special Olympics New Hampshire.

Among the teams participating are Androscoggin River Athletes, Arctic Wolves, Artful Dodgers, Blazing Colors, Capital Area Cougars, Claremont Cool Cats, Community Partners, Connecticut River Special Olympics, ConVal Cougars, Crotched Mountain and Derry Recreation Timberwolves.

Also competing are the Farmington Tigers, Farmsteads of N.E., Independent Burbank, Independent Verrill, Lakeview School, Manchester, Merrimack Friars, Nashua Special Olympics, North Country United, Peterborough Elementary, PLUS Pride, Rivendell Raptors, Rochester Raiders, Special Olympics Rhode Island, South Meadow Middle School Pumas, Storming Hawks, Team Challenger, Team Gunstock, Temple Tornadoes, Waterville Valley Coyotes, White Mountain Special Olympics and Woodsville Engineers.

Among the athletes, 101 will be competing in Alpine skiing contests, 157 in snowshoeing events, 42 in cross-country skiing and 17 in snowboarding.

On Monday, the first day of the event, there were smiles all around.

"Everything went really well, the kids had a great time," Brennan-Curry said.

The competition continues today. Competitions run from 9-11:30 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. Admission is free and the public is encouraged to cheer the athletes on.

dseufert@newstote.com