On Friday, March 18th, two Philadelphia High Schools woke up early to represent their schools in the IUS State Bocce Championship 2016 at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. A team from George Washington High School and High School of the Future boarded a bus around 5:00am at their respective schools to begin their journey to the IUS State Bocce Championships.

Once in Hershey, Pennsylvania, our two Philadelphia teams met up with eight fellow IUS Unified Bocce Teams from four counties: Baldwin High School (Allegheny County), Beaver Falls High School (Beaver County), Carlynton Junior-Senior High School (Allegheny County),  Central Valley High School (Beaver County), Marple Newtown High School (Delaware County), and Upper Darby High School (Delaware County). The IUS Stat Bocce Championship started at 9:00am after Opening Ceremonies.

High School of the Future joined Baldwin High School, Central Valley High School, and Marple Newtown High School to form the Red Division while George Washington High School joined Beaver Falls High School, Carlynton High School, and Upper Darby High School to form the Black Division. High School of the Future’s first game was against Marple Newtown at 9:00am. George Washington High School’s first game was against Upper Darby High School at 9:45am. 

All of the teams gave it their all to get the gold. With family and friends cheering them on from the sidelines and teammates cheering and guiding on the court, every school gave their best effort. Ultimately, George Washington High School came in fourth in the Black Division and High School of the Future came in third in the Red Division. Congratulations to all of the schools! 

CBS21: State Hosts high school Bocce championship at Hershey

PHOTOS

TMNA Services presents their $10,000 presenting sponsor check to Special Olympics Philadelphia

We couldn’t have had a luckier weekend to hold the Leprechaun Run. The 2016 Leprechaun Run brings Gold to the weekend as runners decked out in our gold t-shirts took over Martin Luther King Drive. The morning started out a little chilly, but warmed up to the perfect temperature as our participants hit the streets.

During our opening program, TMNA Services was recognized for their commitment to the athletes of Philadelphia as they presented Special Olympics Pennsylvania – Philadelphia Director, Britt Kleine and our athletes in attendance with a $10,000 presenting sponsor check. The Celtic Flame School of Irish Dance added an Irish flare to the event as they  gave a performance of traditional Irish dance. But before the race could begin, athletes Charlie Zisette and Emmett Abdo, shared a few words as well as the athlete oath and then officially started the race. 

Thank you to all of our participants who attended this year’s race – we can’t wait to see you next year! HUGE thank you to all of our volunteers who made this race run smoothly, we hope to see you at more of our events! 

Results 

Photos

Hundreds Lace UP for Annual Leprechaun Run to Benefit Special Olympics By Andrew Kramer, CBS