When Brandon LaCuesta and MacKenzie Weare hit the gym for powerlifting sessions in Kona on the Big Island, it's not uncommon for them to hear cheers or get high-fives from other weightlifters.

"The part that they really get out of it is they're so welcome by the community," said their coach, Denise Lindsey. "Everybody knows them by name."

The duo take their weightlifting seriously — and have fun with it. Today, LaCuesta, who is legally blind, and Weare, who has Down syndrome, will join a much larger community when they head to Ames, Iowa, for the inaugural Special Olympics USA National Games that open Monday and run through July 7.

The national games were created after the expansion of the international Special Olympics reduced the available slots for U.S. athletes from 3,000 in 1999 to 400 in 2007. Organizers decided the national competition would provide more athletes another opportunity beyond the state level.

Twenty-three Hawai'i athletes, calling themselves Hui 'O Hawai'i, will represent the state in bowling, basketball and powerlifting. Other events in this year's summer games will be in aquatics, tennis, golf, soccer, track and field, bocce, gymnastics, softball and volleyball.

The next World Special Olympics will be in China in 2007. For local athletes, the national games have increased their motivation, giving them a goal for improving, the chance to travel, and a possibility for new opportunities. Many of them will be leaving the state for the first time without their families.

LaCuesta, 20, has Sturge-Weber syndrome, a disease that causes him to have seizures and the glaucoma that damages his vision. The Hawaii Special Olympics male athlete of the year in 2004, LaCuesta said he's going to "go for the gold" in Iowa.

"They're all honored to have been selected," said Arce Baysa, the coach of the women's bowling team. Baysa coaches four female bowlers who were gold medal winners of their divisions in the state competition last year.

Athletes or teams who had won a gold medal in 2005 state competitions were entered as candidates for this year's national games. Participants were randomly selected from the pool of gold medalists.

Athletes who were selected have received a free trip to the national games.

The athletes from Hawai'i will join 3,500 national athletes and 2,000 coaches and delegates from all the states at the National Special Olympics.

Dan Epstein, the vice president of sports at Hawaii Special Olympics, called the national games a "once-in-a-lifetime experience for these athletes."

The experience also gives them a chance to spread the aloha spirit, he said.

Preparing to compete at the national level has improved the abilities of Baysa's athletes 100 percent, she said.

"Before, they were bowling with two hands. This way they have learned to do it with one hand from the side. For me, from two-hand bowling to one-hand bowling is quite a difference," she said.

Shavana Tabayoyong, 20, one of Baysa's athletes, said she wants to at least "bowl a 200 game and win a gold medal."

Another of Baysa's athletes, Sheryl Derby, said she's excited because "you end up meeting a lot of new people."

Lindsey, who coaches LaCuesta and Weare, said the trip opens doors for the athletes, possibly helping them to coach the sport one day.

"That would be so awesome to have an athlete step up to the plate and say, 'I can do this, too.' That would be so cool and it can definitely be done," she said.

Terry Fujimoto, LaCuesta's mother, said she was excited and proud of her son, but unfortunately she won't be able to watch him compete. She said her lack of resources prevented her from going with him.

"I have a cell phone for his coach," Fujimoto said. "I'm hoping to keep in contact with her."

Reach Robert Shikina at rshikina@honoluluadvertiser.com.