BVU's Special Olympics Event a Big Success

On May 4, the BVU SAAC organized a Special Olympics Track & Field Day at Faith, Hope & Charity, a school in Storm Lake for students with special needs.  It was a beautiful, sunny day -- perfect weather for running, beanbag toss, hula hoops, and playing with a huge parachute.  The student-athletes and the Special Olympians shared their skills and worked out their bodies, then topped it off with some cupcake decorating.  Special credit goes to BVU’s SAAC secretary, Kylie Woodley, for organizing this event.

Loras Hosts Special Olympics Event

From Denise Udelhofen, Loras Associate AD and SAAC Adviser:

"Saturday, April 28th Loras College hosted a Special Olympics Challenge day. We had 81 Special Olympic athletes participate and 60+ Duhawk student athletes volunteer at the event. Activities included opening ceremony and various games -- volleyball, bowling, dice bowling, ball darts, batting off a tee and basketball -- that were played throughout the day, concluding with a closing ceremony.  It was a terrific event for Loras College Athletics and the Special Olympic athletes."

Coe's "Minute to Win It" SAAC Activity

Again, from Kelsey Jipp, Coe SAAC:
"Our final SAAC event this semester included teaming up with Senate to sponsor a Friday After Class (FAC), 'Minute To Win It' theme.  This video sums it up..."

Coe Special Olympics Recap

From Kelsey Jipp, Coe SAAC:

"Here are some pictures from our Coe Special Olympics we held on Saturday, April 21st.  There were over 150 Special Olympics athletes and 50 student-athlete volunteers.  Volunteers served as mentors, race starters, timers and high-fivers.  The weather may not have been ideal but that did not stop us from having a great time!"

Photos from Cornell's Unified Sports Day

Cornell College hosted the Fifth Annual Special Olympics Iowa (SOIA) Unified Sports Day on March 17. Below are some great photos of the event. Cornell had 120 student volunteers partner with 150 SOIA athletes on sports teams for a day of unified activities. The group of volunteers included 49 student-athletes and four sports medicine assistants from Cornell. They engaged in 17 various activities ranging from bocce ball and bowling to floor hockey and arts and crafts. Lunch and t-shirts were provided to all participants.

Luther Celebrates National Student-Athlete Day with Youth Sports Activity

Another great video from Luther SAAC that shows its youth sports extravaganza for Decorah's budding boys' and girls' athletes!

Coe's Winter Awards Banquet Features Special Olympian

From Kelsey Jipp, Coe SAAC:

"Coe's SAAC held our 4th annual Winter Letter Awards Banquet April 27th to recognize Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving, and Wrestling athletes.  Each coach spoke about their team's season and announced their athletes by class so they could be given their IIAC conference certificates and/or varsity letters. All-Region, All-America and All-Academic recipients were also recognized. This year we had a guest speaker come in support of the NCAA's Special Olympics initiative. Traci Long is a Global Messenger for Special Olympics and graciously offered to tell her story and promote more student-athlete involvement in future Special Olympics events. She was able to encourage many athletes to sign up as volunteers at the Coe Special Olympics event, coming up April 14th. It was great having Traci and her positive energy!" (Traci [right] is pictured below with Coe women's basketball coach and senior women's administrator Randi Peterson).