On Saturday, April 29th, Special Olympics Philadelphia held our 40th Annual Philadelphia Spring Games at William Penn Charter (3000 West School House Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19144) and it was an absolute success! We had a record-breaking event on numerous levels, including the number of counties hosted (six), the number of athletes competing, and celebrity and political representatives! It looked like it would be a cloudy day when it started, but as we were about to start the sun came out.
The day started at 8:00 am at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with the Law Enforcement Torch Run. The Flame of Hope was escorted by law enforcement from the Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department, Philadelphia Police Department, lead by Deputy Commissioner Dennis Wilson. Members carried the Flame of Hope from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to William Penn Charter. At 9:00 am, Opening Ceremonies began enthusiastically as athlete Allie Rutizer, and Sports Anchor for Comcast SportsNet, John Boruk emceed the morning. To lead the parade of athletes, West Powelton Drum Squad lead the way before we introduced athletes from Bethlehem City, Chester County, Delaware County, Lehigh County, Montgomery County, and of course, Philadelphia County. Besides athletic teams, basketball teams, and tennis teams, we also welcomed our Young Athletes, Gymnastics Team, and athletes from School of the Future and some of our bocce athletes. Athletes in the parade were escorted by members of the Temple University Football Team. After the athletes took their seats, a remarkable edition of the National Anthem was sung by a parent, Denine Aversa as Frankford High Schools Junior ROTC Color Guard lead by Cadet Kevin Olsen presented the colors.
Afterward, Director of Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia, Britt Kleine, spoke and introduced Mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, who gave words of his support of Special Olympics, appreciation for everyone involved, and encouragement for the athletes about to compete. After Mayor Kenney spoke, Councilman Derek Green spoke and presented Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia with a Citation from the City of Philadelphia to honor the 40th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Spring Games. Opening Ceremony ended with the Flame of Hope being brought in by the Law Enforcement Torch Run and escorted by, retired professional boxer, Bernard Hopkins. After the excitement of the Flame of Hope arriving at the 40th Annual Philadelphia Spring Games, Allie and John kept the energy high by proclaiming the Games Open!
Athletes parted ways to partake in athletics (track and field), basketball, and tennis competition. As competition started, our VIP guests got to participate in a Unified Bocce Experience with some of our community bocce athletes as well as athletes from our Interscholastic Unified School, School of the Future. Two courts were set up and after a brief training for our VIP guests, the experience was on its way! Everyone who participated had a great time and athletes played alongside our VIP guests. Our Young Athletes who are not old enough to compete as an official Special Olympics athlete, showed off their skills at William Penn Charter’s playground as they completed an obstacle course that was set up especially to show off their skills.
Besides competition, the Olympic Village offered a place for athletes to relax and do some fun activities while waiting for their turn to compete. In addition, sponsor PriceWaterhouseCoopers was at the grill, firing up some burgers, hot dogs and chicken sandwiches for spectators as well as selling some beverages and souvenirs. The day ended with athletes being awarded medals in order of their finish at their respective competition site. Everyone left happy, and for those athletics and tennis athletes – a little tanner!
Thank you to the coaches, assistant coaches, and families who helped all of our athletes prepare for the 40th Annual Philadelphia Spring Games! A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who made this day possible!
Coming Soon!
| Team | Athletes | Place |
| Bad News Bears | ||
| Timberwolves | ||
| Wildcats | ||
| Ballers | ||
| Blazers | ||
| Hawks | ||
| Hoops | ||
| Phlames | ||
| Phlash | ||
| Rebels |
Coming Soon!
Via Kristen Applegate YouTube channel on behalf of Temple University
PHOTOS: Special Olympics holds annual Philadelphia Spring Games at Penn Charter in East Falls
The Gish Rockford Family
The 47th annual Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games took place from June 2-4 at Penn State University. The 2016 Summer Games might have been a rainy, but that did not wipe the smiles off of the athlete’s faces. Over the course of three days, athletes competed in sports such as aquatics, athletics, basketball, bowling, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, softball and tennis. With over 2,000 athletes, 800 coaches, and 2,500 volunteers this event was a success.
Competitions began Thursday with preliminary rounds. Later that night Opening Ceremonies kicked off the weekend. Players from the Penn State Football team pumped up the crowd to begin the ceremony and made sure every individual in the arena was on their feet having the time of their life. Even Sue Paterno joined in on the dancing! Opening Ceremonies featured speeches from the President and CEO of Special Olympics PA, Matthew Aaron, and Special Olympics PA Senior Vice President of Programming, Clare Walsh Miller, and a couple of athletes eager to share their enthusiasm for the upcoming competitions.
At the conclusion of Opening Ceremonies, the Flame of Hope was brought in by The Law Enforcement Torch Run which began at PNC Park in Pittsburg and traveled 150 miles over three days to end at the Opening Ceremonies in the Pegula Ice Arena. The torch was lead by ten motorcycles came in with their sirens and lights on, as the crowd roared. With help from law enforcement officials, athlete Kyle Zurns, lit the torch, and the games officially began!
After a spectacular Opening Ceremonies, competition kicked off Friday as early as 8 a.m. and athletes began to receive medals that they would remember for a lifetime. Athletes got to interact and socialize with Penn State athletes during their competition and were even awarded by these wonderful student athletes. Throughout the course of the games, Healthy Athlete programs were offered around the campus. In Pollock Commons fitness, eye, ear, dental, and dietary health screenings were provided free of charge for our athletes. In addition, at certain venues during competitions, staff offered information about healthy eating habits as well as healthy snack options to athletes and their families.
A fun filled weekend came to an end with closing ceremonies on Saturday with the presentation of the Sheetz Family Award of Excellence. James Fry from Columbia/Montour was the winner and raised his new gold trophy high to show everyone around. His smile was contagious and had everyone smiling with him as they left Penn State.
| Raymond Anderson | 50M Walk | :16.80 | Participation |
| 100M Walk | :39.50 | 3rd Place | |
| Shotput | 906 | 1st Place | |
| Porsha Blake | 50M Walk | :19.70 | 1st Place |
| 100M Walk | :44.50 | 1st Place | |
| Softball Throw | 1260 | 3rd Place | |
| Keith Collins | 25M Walk | :11.50 | 1st Place |
| 50M Walk | :31.10 | 1st Place | |
| 100M Walk | :49.90 | 2nd Place | |
| Desmond Corley | 100M Run | :14.52 | 2nd Place |
| 200M Run | :31.08 | 4th Place | |
| Long Jump | 177 | 5th Place | |
| Tyrell Hargrave | 100M Run | :15.01 | 1st Place |
| 200M Run | :30.09 | 1st Place | |
| Long Jump | 222 | 3rd Place | |
| John Kulpa | 100M Run | :15.88 | 6th Place |
| 4x100M Relay | 01:13.3 | 1st Place | |
| Shotput | 769 | 2nd Place | |
| Tamika Newkirk | 50M Run | :08.90 | 1st Place |
| Softball Throw | 1365 | 1st Place | |
| Adrianna Nieves | 100M Run | :19.10 | 1st Place |
| 200M Run | :42.50 | 1st Place | |
| 4x100M Relay | 01:13.3 | 1st Place | |
| Shotput | 197 | 1st Place | |
| Tyreek Perkins | 100M Run | :14.10 | 5th Place |
| 200M Run | :29.12 | 1st Place | |
| 4x100M Relay | 01:13.3 | 1st Place | |
| Long Jump | 387 | 2nd Place | |
| Sharon Quarles | 25M Walk | :07.30 | 1st Place |
| 50M Walk | :17.40 | 1st Place | |
| Softball Throw | 1301 | 2nd Place | |
| Eugene Riley | 100M Walk | :29.80 | 1st Place |
| 400M Walk | 02:55.0 | 1st Place | |
| Softball Throw | 2243 | 2nd Place | |
| Sadika Smith | 100M Run | :18.10 | 3rd Place |
| 200M Run | :38.30 | 4th Place | |
| Shotput | 329 | 2nd Place | |
| Sheila Stevens | 25M Walk | :08.70 | Participation |
| 50M Walk | :28.60 | 3rd Place | |
| Softball Throw | 592 | 2nd Place | |
| Michael Walker | 100M Walk | :29.60 | 3rd Place |
| 400M Walk | 02:38.0 | 2nd Place | |
| Shotput | 514 | 3rd Place |
| Kelsey Greenwald | 25M Backstroke | 32.37 | 5th Place |
| 100M Freestyle | 1.46.67 | 2nd Place | |
| 200M Freestyle | 4:06.58 | 3rd Place | |
| 4x50M Medley Relay | 5:18.72 | 2nd Place | |
| Joseph Barut | 25M Backstroke | 48.43 | 2nd Place |
| 25M Freestyle | 33.91 | 4th Place | |
| 50M Freestyle | 1:20.97 | 3rd Place | |
| Katelyn Joyce | 25M Breaststroke | 45.34 | 2nd Place |
| 100M Backstroke | 2:47.15 | 2nd Place | |
| 100M Freestyle | 2:45.18 | 7th Place | |
| 4x50M Medley Relay | 5:18.72 | 2nd Place | |
| Shane O’Neill | 50M Backstroke | 59.28 | 1st Place |
| 100M Freestyle | 2:07.57 | 4th Place | |
| 400M Freestyle | 10:42.06 | 1st Place | |
| 4x50M Medley Relay | 3.26.03 | 1st Place | |
| Jackie Lutts | 50M Backstroke | 1:09.06 | 3rd Place |
| 50M Freestyle | 49.38 | 1st Place | |
| 100M Freestyle | 1:52.89 | 2nd Place | |
| Heather Lutts | 50M Breaststroke | 1:53.50 | 1st Place |
| 50M Freestyle | 1:11.08 | 3rd Place | |
| 100M Freestyle | 2:53.93 | 8th Place | |
| 4x50M Medley Relay | 5:18.72 | 2nd Place | |
| Katie Moore | 100M Breaststroke | 2:34.89 | 3rd Place |
| 200M Individual Medley | 4:47.06 | 2nd Place | |
| 4x50M Medley Relay | 5:18.72 | 2nd Place | |
| 800M Freestyle | 21.01.09 | 2nd Place | |
| Jesse Rose | 100M Breaststroke | 2:35.12 | 4th Place |
| 200M Backstroke | 4:17.77 | 2nd Place | |
| 4x50M Medley Relay | 3:26.03 | 1st Place | |
| 800M Freestyle | 18.42.32 | 1st Place | |
| Meghan Garlick | 100M Freestyle | 1:47.87 | 2nd Place |
| 200M Backstroke | 4:35.41 | 1st Place | |
| 200M Individual Medley | 4:22.25 | 4th Place | |
| 4x50M Medley Relay | 3.26.03 | 1st Place | |
| Ian Capacio | 200M Backstroke | 4:28.47 | 4th Place |
| 200M Individual Medley | 3:30.89 | 1st Place | |
| 4x50M Medley Relay | 3:26.03 | 1st Place | |
| 800M Freestyle | 13:13.55 | 1st Place |
| Team Phusion | ||
| Marlene Johnson | Bowling Singles | 1st Place |
| Luke Jones | All Around | 2nd Place | |
| Megan Murphy | All Around | 1st Place |
On Saturday, April 30th, 70 athletes represented Philadelphia at the 2016 Eastern Spring Sectional held at Kutztown University. Opening Ceremonies was filled with many performances including the KutzTones, Kutztown University’s A cappella group, singing the national anthem, Special Stars cheerleading team performing their routine, and Kutztown University Dance Team performing two numbers. During Opening Ceremonies, Fran Moore, Head Coach of Special Olympics Philadelphia Aquatics lead the coaches in the Coaches’ Oath. After the conclusion of Opening Ceremonies, our Philadelphia athletes joined over 1,000 athletes from the eastern part of Pennsylvania to compete in one of the six sports offered at the Eastern Spring Sectional – Athletics, Aquatics, Basketball, Golf, Softball, and Tennis.
Joseph Barut |
25 M Freestyle, :34.72 | 2nd Place |
| 50 M Backstroke, 1:39.10 | 1st Place | |
| 25 M Backstroke, :47.81 | 1st Place | |
Ian Capacio |
100 M Butterfly, 1:47.91 | 1st Place |
| 200 M Individual Medley | Participation | |
| 800 M Freestyle, 12:20.22 | 3rd Place | |
Meghan Garlick |
200 M Individual Medley | Participation |
| 100 M Backstroke, 1:48.37 | 1st Place | |
| 200 M Breaststroke, 4:42.54 | 1st Place | |
Kelsey Greenewald |
200 M Freestyle, 4:01.81 | 1st Place |
| 25 M Backstroke, :28.39 | 1st Place | |
| 100 M Freestyle, 1:47.92 | 2nd Place | |
Katelyn Joyce |
50 M Butterfly, 1:37.42 | 2nd Place |
| 100 M Freestyle, 2:38.29 | 2nd Place | |
| 50 M Backstroke, 1:14.96 | 3rd Place | |
Heather Lutts |
100 M Freestyle, 2:39.53 | 3rd Place |
| 50 M Backstroke, 1:18.87 | 5th Place | |
| 25 M Butterfly, :41.29 | 1st Place | |
Jackie Lutts |
100 M Freestyle, 1:54.71 | 4th Place |
| 50 M Backstroke, 1:06.78 | 3rd Place | |
| 50 M Freestyle, :51.38 | 2nd Place | |
Matthew Malyj |
25 M Breaststroke, :31.16 | 2nd Place |
| 50 M Breaststroke | Participation | |
| 100M Freestyle, 2:13.53 | 1st Place | |
Brian Meehan |
100 M Backstroke, 2:08.16 | 4th Place |
| 400 M Freestyle, 9:26.72 | 1st Place | |
| 200 M Freestyle, 4:29.90 | 3rd Place | |
Katie Moore |
800 M Freestyle, 19:33.35 | 2nd Place |
| 100 M Individual Medley, 2:13.82 | 2nd Place | |
| 100 M Butterfly, 2:30.95 | 2nd Place | |
Jesse Rose |
100 M Butterfly, 2:34.30 | 3rd Place |
| 200 M Backstroke, 4:21.59 | 1st Place | |
| 800M Freestyle, 18:57.97 | 1st Place |
Matthew Grabowski, Clifford Johnson, Kwante Crummy, Ryan Bogan, Joe Rynkiewicz, Angel Rodriguez, Charlie Zisette, Mitchell Stahl
Lavar Gladden, Devone Clements, Nicole Stnaley, Demetrius LeFlore, Tyrone Durant, Abdul Muhammad, Frank Olevsky, Benjamin Liken, Michael Henderson, Denzel McFadden
Andrew Hooks, Matt Beckman, Sam Fioravanti, Ronald Atkins, William Strauser, Emest Swanson, Danny Amrik, Allison Rutizer
Lateef Hiller, James Fulton, Felipe Rivera, Kenny Lamont, James Trotman, Nakisha Johnson, Kyle Sheaff, Christopher Ray, Sharod King, Jonathon Watson, James Daly III, James Thorton
Vernon Mayfield, Matthew Everett, Derrell Sutton, Luis Cotto, Brian Stulz, Carl Irvis, Derrick Jackson, Josh Harris, Danny Charlton, Corey Sweet
Emmett Abdo, Michael Castillo, Stanley Dluzniewski, James Shelton, Kelly Dluziewski, Kristie Walls, David Brent Williams, Bianca Pedulla, Anthony Gross, Aida Ortiz, Carlyn Robinson
(Philadelphia, PA, April 10, 2015) – More than 250 Special Olympic Pennsylvania athletes, 300 volunteers and 50 coaches, from Philadelphia and the surrounding area, will migrate to the William Penn Charter School, located at 3000 W. School House Lane, on Saturday, April 18th, for the 35th Annual Spring Games Competition. Athletes will compete in athletics (track and field), basketball and tennis.
The 2015 Spring Games will kick off with local members of Law Enforcement running with the Flame of Hope from the Art Museum to Penn Charter School. The Torch is expected to arrive at 9:00a.m., prior to Opening Ceremonies. The Ceremonies will include a parade of athletes, special guest speakers, and the lighting of the cauldron with Games immediately following and taking place until 3:30 p.m.
This year, through a new partnership, Maramont Corporation is donating lunches, snacks and refreshments for over 500 athletes, volunteers and coaches attending the 2015 Philadelphia Spring Games. The Maramont Corporation supplies pre-packaged food meals to various city agencies, provides lunches for the Philadelphia School District, and operates as a subsidiary of Prepared Meal Holdings, Inc.
Beyond competition and Opening Ceremonies, the Spring Games will feature a family-friendly Olympic Town that will provide entertainment for all. Members of the community are invited to join the festivities with their friends and families to experience the joy that sports provide for Special Olympics Pennsylvania athletes.
About Special Olympics Pennsylvania
Special Olympics Pennsylvania provides year-round training and competition in 21 Olympic-type sports to nearly 20,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities or closely related developmental disabilities. For more information about how SOPA inspires greatness, visit our Web site at www.specialolympicspa.org.
The sun, along with hundreds of athletes, coaches, volunteers and fans, came out on Saturday to participate in the 2014 Philadelphia Spring Games! 2014 Spring Games: A Winning Event, was a beautiful day filled with laughter, joy and competition as athletes from around Pennsylvania came together to compete in their respective sports. Putting their hard work, training and dedication to the test, athletes competed for the added glory of winning a Special Olympics medal.
The Opening Ceremonies saw athletes joined by coaches and volunteers parade across the grandstands as spectators cheered them on. Law Enforcement was also out in full force supporting our great cause as they completed the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run into the Games carrying the Flame of Hope, which led to the 2014 Spring Games being declared open by Global Messenger, Lisa Barbour.
Competitions in basketball, tennis, track and field and gymnastics kept our athletes busy and the spectators in awe throughout the day. A unique feature of this year’s Games was the Unified Basketball game that saw Special Olympic athletes joined by guest players from the University of Pennsylvania football team, as well as Dr. Arthur Evans and his deputy commissioner, Mr. David Jones. This wonderful group played in a friendly, yet fast-paced and exciting game of basketball to help kick off the Games! This Unified Basketball game was a perfect example of how sport can provide joy to everyone, together.
The day was absolutely marvelous and Philadelphia could not have asked for a better event! We would like to thank all of the athletes, coaches, volunteers and fans for participating in the day’s festivities and events, and for making it such an incredible day to remember! We look forward to an even bigger and better Games next Spring and wish everyone the best of luck in their competitions in the meantime!
On June 14, 2013 at the Penn State Conference Center Hotel in State College, the first round of athletes were selected to represent Team Pennsylvania in the 2014 Special Olympics USA National Games. Six Philly Athletes Selected for 2014 USA National Games as well as two basketball teams will be representing Team Pennsylvania at the National Games with another two individual athletes being selected as alternates.
Athletes were selected by a random draw from those who won a gold medal at the 2013 Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games held from June 7-9, 2013 at Pennsylvania State University. The first round of athletes, partners and alternates were selected in the sports of Aquatics, Athletics, Bowling, Golf, Artistic Gymnastics, Tennis, Basketball (Full-Court Teams), and Softball (Traditional and Unified Sports Teams).
Special Olympic Philadelphia athletes still have a chance to qualify for the 2014 National Games which will be held in New Jersey. The remaining 96 spots on Team Pennsylvania will be decided after athletes compete at the 2013 Special Olympics Pennsylvania Fall Festival at Villanova University on November 1-3, 2013. Athletes will be selected from the sports of Bocce, Powerlifting, 5 v 5 Soccer (Traditional and Unified Teams), and Volleyball (Traditional). Congratulations, Team Philly!
Philly athletes who will head to Summer Games
Our athletes have been training hard and now is their time to shine at the annual Summer Games! This Thursday, 55 Special Olympics Philly athletes head to Summer Games in State College. Summer Games will take place between Thursday, June 6th and Saturday, June 8th. The Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games are held each year at Penn State University in State College. The event brings together over 2,000 athletes and 750 coaches from across the state. Our largest event of the year, Summer Games features three days of intense competition in aquatics, athletics, basketball, bowling, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, softball and tennis. Every race, every game, every competition held at Summer Games represents many weeks of training, preparation and dedication on the part of our athletes, coaches and volunteers. Our Philadelphia athletes will compete for the gold in bowling, track & field, basketball and aquatics.
The Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games features more than two thousand athletes and seven hundred and fifty coaches from across the Commonwealth competing in three days of intense competition. This year’s Summer Games is a qualifying event for the Special Olympics USA Games, taking place June 14-21st, 2014 in New Jersey.
Official results will be available online following the conclusion of the games. Good luck Team Philly!
To learn more about the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Summer Games, please click here.
On April Fools, our Philadelphia athletes weren’t fooling anyone as they rolled spares and strikes at the 2012 Eastern Bowling Sectional, a one-day competition featuring more than 300 athletes. Opening Ceremonies were held at Trexler Middle School and the competition venues were Mountainville Bowling Alley, Rose Bowl and Playdrome- all in Allentown. Athletes compete in various bowling events: singles, doubles, teams and unified. 31 of our Philadelphia athletes took to the lanes and gave it their all in hopes of advancing to the 2012 Summer Games at Penn State University in State College, PA.
1st Place |
Stephanie Cooper, William Devlin, Vincent Filograna, Pamela Galone, Raymond Jackson, Michael O’Donnell |
2nd Place |
Raymond Anderson, Theodore Angerman, Alberto Borrero, Kirstyn Cantres, Stephan Dacyna, Kevin Karcher, Salim Thomas |
3rd Place |
Mitchell Gaskins, John Kulpa, Richard Walston, Michael Weinberg |
4th Place |
Daniel Charlton, Keith Collins, William Strauser Jr, Edmund Zakrocki |
5th Place |
Matthew Kosman, Michael Mullen, Rachel Santiago, Angela Smith, |
6th Place |
William Borrero, Michael Esposito, Rosemary Furlong, Sheila Stevens, |
7th Place |
Russell Barndt, David Borrero, |
Facebook
Twitter