Special Olympics Fall Games: Volunteers Needed

Written by Kate Haggerty on August 17, 2023. Posted in Community, Featured, Sports.

The 2023 Special Olympics Fall Games include an opening ceremony on Friday, October 20th at Glens Falls City Park, and competition in seven sports Saturday October 21st – competitions will include bocce, cross country running, cycling, equestrian, soccer, golf and softball.

Volunteers are needed to support the Games. Jobs that volunteers fulfill include: event set-up and break-down, registration, scorekeeping, timing, photography, and golf caddying. No experience is needed. The venues for the 2023 State Fall Games include: Glens Falls City Park (opening ceremonies), Adirondack Sports Complex (bocce), Cole’s Woods (cross-country running), SUNY Adirondack (cycling), Skidmore College (equestrian), Brookhaven Golf Course (golf), and Morse Athletic Complex (soccer and softball).

Volunteers work to set up and take down ceremonies that support the running of competitions… They cheer on the athletes, as well as capture and share moments from the events.

Special Olympics New York has created a strategic plan to help athletes with intellectual differences (ID) play a sport, be part of a team, and compete. The goal of the strategic plan is to increase depth of participation, and quality of opportunities for existing athletes and stakeholders, as well as recruit the next generation of athletes, coaches and partners. Achieving organizational excellence is also core to enhancing the mission and securing the future.

The Special Olympics has been changing lives since 1968… The Special Olympics began because Eunice Kennedy Shriver saw how unjustly and unfairly people with disabilities were being treated, and she decided to take action. The goal was to learn what these children could do in sports and other activities, and not dwell on what they couldn’t do. The work of the Special Olympics has helped people with disabilities gain respect and admiration… This movement continues to bring people with and without disabilities together.

For more information, please visit www.specialolympicsny.org