On Saturday, October 27, 2018, volleyball teams from Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties competed against each other at the 2018 Invitational Volleyball Tournament held at Abraham Lincoln High School. Chase Trimmer, Director of Special Olympics Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, kicked off Opening Ceremonies with a warm welcome. Afterward, he introduced Global Messenger, Athlete Representative and member of SOPA Philly’s Athlete Leadership Committee, Raymond Anderson as the Master of Ceremonies. Raymond then took over and welcomed the different teams to the tournament. The teams who participated included Montgomery County “Hawks I”, Montgomery County “Hawks II”, Montgomery County “Key Lime”, Montgomery County “Teal Seals”, Montgomery County “Warriors”, Philadelphia “Pure Energy”, Philadelphia “Special Stars”, Philadelphia “Wildcats I” and Philadelphia “Wildcats II”.

Once the teams made their way in, Raymond was able to welcome Abraham Lincoln’s Air Force Junior ROTC to present the colors, with the color guard being led by Cadet Escavez. Next, Chase took over again to thank everyone for coming once again and  to wish luck to the athletes and coaches competing. Then, Tori Amaradio, a Special Olympics athlete from the Philadelphia “Wildcats I”, led the athletes in the Special Olympics Oath of “Let me win. If I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt”. The ceremony proceeded with Rosemary Duffy from Philadelphia County leading the coaches in reciting the Coach’s Oath. After both oaths were recited, Francis Bradshaw, an athlete from the Philadelphia “Special Stars” carried out the Flame of Hope. Following the entrance of the Flame of Hope was everyone’s favorite part – the declaration that the 2018 Philadelphia Invitational Volleyball Tournament open. Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia athlete, Sharon Quarles was able to officially open the games to a roaring crowd.

Despite the gloomy weather outside, it was all warmth and smiles inside.

The games began with every single athlete bringing extremely high energy to the court. As the division one, two, and three teams competed against each other, you could see everyone’s excitement to be playing and the sportsmanship throughout the matches. As the games continued, everyone had a blast cheering each other on! Congratulations to all of our teams and coaches everyone an amazing job!

Results:

Division 1

1. Montgomery Warriors
2. Philadelphia Pure Energy

Division 2

1. Montgomery Teal Seals
2. Philadelphia Wildcats I
3. Montgomery Hawks I

Division 3

1. Mongomery Key Lime
2. Philadelphia Stars
3. Philadelphia Wildcats II

Photos:

More photos can be found on our Facebook Page

 

Our three Philadelphia soccer teams made their season debut at the 2018 Fall Sports Classic. This event was hosted by Special Olympics PA – Area M on Sunday, September 16th in Hershey, PA. Over 800 Special Olympics athletes from across PA competed in Bocce, Long Distance Running/Walking, Powerlifting, Soccer, and Volleyball for the 15th Annual Fall Sports Classic. The event was based at four different locations in the Hershey area. Hershey High School hosted powerlifting and volleyball, Hershey Middle School hosted volleyball, Founders Field hosted LDR/W and soccer, and Hershey Italian Lodge hosted bocce. 

It was the perfect day for our soccer teams to make their debut, clear and sunny with a nice breeze to ensure our athlete didn’t get too hot. Our three soccer teams, Philly United, Strykers, and Stars and Stripes gave a strong showing as they went head-to-head with their competitors. This is the first time Philadelphia has had a Unified Soccer Team participate in the Community Program. A unified team means individuals with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete together. Through training and competing together, friendships and a mutual respect are born between both athletes (individuals with intellectual disabilities) and partners (individuals without intellectual disabilities). Parents, coaches, and fans were excited to get outside and cheer on our teams as they made it one step closer to the end goal – state games, aka, Fall Festival.

Results:

Team	Coach	Athletes/Partners	Place
Philly United (7v7)	Walt Beckman	Charles Zisette, Mitchel Stahl, Sam Fioravanti Jr, Danny Charlton, Carl Irvis, Jesse Rose, Jason Bixby, Ian Capacio, Michael Castillo, Justin Martinez, Hope Anderson	2nd
Strykers (Unified 7v7)	Stacy Plumbo	Brian Oldankowski, Ryan Milanaik, Joseph Rynkiewicz, Matthew Grabowski, Ryan Bogan, Michael Luciani, Brian Stulz, Hailey Hurst, Angel Rodriguez, Jonathon Boback	2nd
Stars and Stripes (5v5)	Charles Abdo	Allison Davidson, Danny Amrik, Jackie Lutts, Emmett Abdo, Lisa Barbour, Kristie Walls, Michael Weinberg, David Brent Williams	2nd

Brandywine Realty Trust hosted the First Ever Philly Plunge Kickoff on Wednesday, August 8th at the Commerce Square Court Yard. Music, water ice, and beach balls were all the things necessary to cool off from the hot day where temperatures were reaching the low nineties. Brandywine Realty Trust helped us excite people for the Philadelphia Polar Plunge that will be held on November 30th at Drexel University’s Recreation Center (3301 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104) between 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Unlike the Kickoff, the weather during the Philadelphia Polar Plunge will hopefully be a brisk day where brave souls will jump into a freezing pool and be #FreezinForAReason. The Philadelphia Polar Plunge is Philadelphia’s premiere fundraiser, where the goal is to raise funds for all of our programming as well as awareness for our athletes and programs.

PJ Brown & Her Resistance headlined the event on a stage that was centered in the courtyard. As people flowed in and out of the courtyard for lunch, Kristin Lewis, author of You Are Special, was also on-site selling her book and signing copies! Music, snacks, and books were outside and if attendees wanted to cool off, they had to look no further than Pagano’s Market & Bar who ran a drink special to support the Philadelphia Polar Plunge. In addition to the fun, Brandywine Realty Trust and Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia had raffles that attendees could win. The hot day couldn’t contain the enthusiasm of Special Olympics staff, who were there to help answer questions about the Philly Plunge and share their experiences. As the event continued, people were chatting about the plunge and ideas were popping into everyone’s minds for costumes, business wear and ways to help out Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia. The kickoff was not only a success but it reminded everyone that with all of us together that we can create a community of love and inclusion for all.

Thank you to Brandywine Realty Trust, PJ Brown & Her Resistance, Kristin Lewis, and Pagano’s Market & Bar for their support of the Philly Plunge!

For more information on the Philadelphia Plunge, click here. To register for this year’s Philly Plunge, click here.

 

It was a beautiful day, perfect to be outside for Track and Field Championships held at Shippensburg University on Saturday, May 26th. In their first appearance at the state championships, MLK Wins 2018 PIAA State Track & Field Championship in the Special Olympics Division. Martin Luther King’s Unified Team joined their varsity team on the journey to Shippensburg University – and even donned the same school shirt as the varsity team. To get here, Martin Luther King’s Unified Track & Field team competed in two local tournaments against other Philadelphia schools and then won the Philadelphia Track & Field Championship. 

Sophomore India Grierson, Sophomore Precious Ford, Junior Maurice Griffin, Senior Ojay Harris, Sophomore Zhaire Harris-White, Junior Jasir Newsome, Senior Dante Young-Connor, Sophomore Isaiah Collins, Junior Shaheed Cooper, Sophomore Augustus Hill Jr, Sophomore Malik Jones, Sophomore Nagid Sawyer, and Junior Jalen Williams made up Martin Luther King’s Unified Team. Athletes and partners competed in the 100-Meter Dash, 400-Meter Race, 800-Meter Race,  Shot-put, Mini-Javelin, and the 4×100-Meter Relay. MLK took an early lead after the 100-Meter Dash and held on to the lead throughout the championship. 

Congratulations, Martin Luther King! We look forward to what your next season brings!

Photos

For all photos from the event, click here.

 

Team Results

Place	School	Final Score
1st Place	Martin Luther King High School (Philadelphia)	76
2nd Place	Red Lion High School	63
3rd Place	McDowell High School	60
4th Place	Souderton Area High School (Montgomery)	56
5th Place	General McLane High School	51
6th Place	Brashear High School	44

 

Individual Event Results

100 Meter Dash

Year in School	First Name	Final Time	Place
Freshman	Denim Morris
Senior	Ojay Harris	15.97	1
Senior	Dandre Young-Connor	17.93
Sophomore	Isaiah Collins	13.82	2
Sophomore	Nagid Sawyer	12.78	1
Sophomore	Augustus Hill Jr	14.14
Sophomore	Malik Jones
Junior	Jalen Williams	11.88	1

 

400 Meter Race

Year in School	First Name	Final Time	Place
Sophomore	Precious Ford	01:21.7	1
Junior	Maurice Griffin	1:29.94
Sophomore	India Grierson	1:28.60
Sophomore	Zhaire Harris-White	1:16.07
Junior	Jasir Newsome	1:01.41	1

 

800 Meter Race

Junior, Shaheed Cooper, 2:24.89, 2nd Place

Shot Put

Year in School	First Name	Best Put	Place
Senior	Dandre Young-Connor	21	1
Junior	Shaheed Cooper	27.5	1
Sophomore	Augustus Hill Jr	32.4	1
Senior	Ojay Harris	46.6	1

 

Mini JAv

Year in School	First Name	Best Throw	Place
Sophomore	Zhaire Harris-White	29.9	1
Sophomore	India Grierson	32.11	3
Junior	Maurice Griffin	40.6	2
Sophomore	Precious Ford	42.6	1
Junior	Jasir Newsome	29.1
Junior	Jalen Williams	43.11
Sophomore	Isaiah Collins	71.11	1
Sophomore	Nagid Sawyer	74.11	2

 

4×100 Meter Relay

Jasir Newsome (Junior), Maurice Griffin (Junior), Isaiah Collins (Sophomore), Nagid Sawyer (Sophomore)

54.61

1st Place

 

 

Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia’s 2018 Unified Track & Field Championship was held on Monday, May 7, 2018, at the South Philadelphia Supersite. It was the perfect day to celebrate our athletes, partners and coaches and all the hard work they put on during the 2018 IUS Track & Field season. Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia Director, Chase Trimmer, kicked things off by welcoming everyone to the event and announcing the winning school would get a chance to compete at the PIAA Track and Field Championship in Shippensburg, PA. After some welcoming remarks, the five schools entered through the parade of athletes. Schools participating in the second annual Philadelphia Unified Track & Field Championship included George Washington High School. Hill Freedman, Martin Luther King High School, Northeast High School and host South Philadelphia High School. Special Olympics PA Board Member, Tony Gillespie joined us for the day and offered luck to all athletes and partners competing. Margaret Lasseter and Tra Griffin from South Philadelphia then lead the athletes and partners in the Special Olympics athlete oath of “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. Following the athlete oath, Coach Regina Johnson from Martin Luther King High School lead the coaches in the Coaches Oath of “I promise that we shall, take part in these Special Olympics games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them. In the true spirit of sportsmanship. For the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.” After Margaret and Tra came back up to officially declare the Unified Track and Field Championship open, the crowd erupted in applause and athletes and partners got ready to compete.

The 100-meter dash kicked off the Championship. As athletes raced down the track, South Philadelphia’s cheerleading squad was there to cheer them onto strong finishes. The 100-meter dash was followed by the 400-meter race and the 800-meter race which showcased the long distance runners of each school. After these track events, athletes split up to participate in one of three field events – long jump, mini javelin, or shotput. Each field event saw some great jumps and throws by both athletes and partners alike, with some creating a new personal record for themselves. 

Photos

Individual Results

School Key:

GW – George Washington High School, HF – Hill Freedman, MLK – Martin Luther King High School, NE – Northeast High School, SP – South Philadelphia High School

100 Meter Dash

School	A/P	Name	Time	Place
SP	Partner	Tracesaan Griffin	12.06	1
HF	Partner	Darius Hunter-McLean	14.28	3
NE	Partner	Fransico Correia	13.41	2
HF	Partner	Kayla Marshall	14.78	6
HF	Athlete	Tahlik Moon	12.12	1
HF	Partner	Justice Saunders	14	5
NE	Partner	Pedro Alicea	12.2	2
HF		Keith Jones	12.53	3
NE	Partner	Caio Desouza	12.17	4
SP	Partner	Vaten Pridgen	13.8	3
GW	Athlete	Ryan Caldwell	14.91	4
HF	Partner	Aniya Gentles	13.79	2
SP	Athlete	Nasir Martin	13.63	1
GW	Athlete	Joseph McGinley	14.91	4
GW	Athlete	Johnathan Aguliera	15.46	3
MLK	Athlete	Semaj Glover	13.69	2
SP	Athlete	Maragret Lassiter	15.63	4
NE	Partner	Andra Silva	12.37	1
NE	Athlete	Samirah Stevens	15.5	1
HF	Partner	Destiny Goldmas	15.79	2
MLK	Athlete	Ludiner Chery	17.29	3
GW	Athlete	Aaron Wilson	16.16	1
MLK	Athlete	Dandre Young-Conner	19.66	5
NE	Athlete	Maria Trinidad	16.28	3
GW	Athlete	Nicholas Delgado	16.2	2
NE	Athlete	Alysha Hawkins	17.54	4
GW	Athlete	Kassim Rollerson	19.13	5
GW	Athlete	Brandon Taylor	17.07	2
GW	Athlete	Jordan Scott	17.85	4
MLK	Athlete	Ojay Harris	15.79	1
GW	Athlete	Dominic Maffei	17.72	3
GW	Athlete	Anthony Le	21.28	6
GW	Athlete	Oluwasegen Sodeke	21.28	3
GW	Athlete	Zachary Zimri	20.16	2
HF	Partner	Jihara Richardson	16.78	1
NE	Athlete	Karen Luong	25.9	5
NE	Athlete	John Zhen	22.34	4
HF	Athlete	Khyree Scott	29.72	3
NE	Athlete	Chris Chandler	21.91	1
NE	Athlete	Savanah Ayala	22.12	2
NE	Athlete	Adam Loai	30.63	4
NE	Athlete	Falu Anthony	32.37	5
GW	Athlete	Mitchell Cafolla	41.43	6

 

400 Meter Run

School	A/P	Name	Time	Place
MLK	Athlete	Jasir Newsome	1:02	2
SP	Partner	Ibrahim Cisse-Karamoko	1:00	1
MLK	Partner	Thomas Bell	1:05.22	1
HF	Athlete	Russell Shelton	1:08	3
HF	Partner	Ariel Odom	1:19.00	4
SP	Athlete	Reggie Blanton	1:06.78	2
GW	Athlete	Peter Pulukchu	1:17.28	2
GW	Athlete	Ronald Pierre	1:24.63	3
GW	Athlete	Faheem Rucker	1:16.15	1
HF	Partner	Jasmine Addison	1:28.72	4
GW	Athlete	Kwesi Quainoo	1:08.34	1
MLK	Athlete	Zhaire Harris White	1:16.00	4
GW	Athlete	Juan Espinosa	1:08.38	2
MLK	Partner	Nagid Sawyer	1:13.28	3
MLK	Athlete	Maurice Griffin	1:18.81	1
HF	Partner	Christian Moreno	1:22.97	3
HF	Athlete	Laurance Warner	1:20.34	2
MLK	Athlete	India Grierson	1:31.50	4
HF	Athlete	Iyana Sipes	1:31.84	2
GW	Athlete	Leyla Kamilova	1:43.06	3
MLK	Partner	Taylor Calloway	1:29.50	1
GW	Athlete	Elizabeth Vicario	1:43.66	1
SP	Athlete	Joseph Polizzi	2:28.43	4
NE	Athlete	Uwase Mutoni	1:45.32	2
GW	Athlete	Daika Douze	2:00.00	3
MLK	Athlete	Trevor Thompson	3:10.00	6
NE	Athlete	Samuel Godoi	3:08.85	5

 

800 Meter Race

School	A/P	Name	Time	Place
SP	Partner	Arisode Intwali	2:24.86	1
NE	Athlete	Isais Aponte	3:22.42	1
MLK	Athlete	Precious Ford	3:40.60	3
SP	Athlete	Charles Galvani	3:36.76	2

 

4×100 Relay

Teams	Time	Place
GW 2	1:06.50	4
GW 1	1:03.97	3
SP 1	:58.34	1
HF 1	1:01.75	2
MLK 1 (Boys)	1:07.91	2
HF 2	1:08.34	3
NE 1	1:07.50	1

 

4×400 Relay

Team	Times	Place
GW 1	4:38.41	1
MLK 1	5:26.90	3
SP 1	4:56.41	2
NE 1	5:40.03	4

 

Long Jump

School	A/P	Name	1st Attempt	2nd Attempt	3rd Attempt	Place
GW	Athlete	Joseph McGinley	6′ 4.5″	4′ 8″	F	2
SP	Partner	Abudullah Ali	7′ 11″	7′	7′ 4″	1
GW	Athlete	Peter Pulukchu	F	10′ 9.5″	9′ 2″	2
GW	Athlete	Faheem Rucker	F	10′ 10″	11′ 1.5″	1
HF	Partner	Kayla Marshall	9′ 9.5″	10′ 2″	9′ 4″	3
GW	Athlete	Juan Espinosa	9′ 9″	11′ 7″	12′ 4″	3
MLK	Partner	Taylor Calloway	7′ 11″	8′	F	4
GW	Athlete	Kwesi Quainoo	13′ 3″	14′	14′ 9″	2
MLK	Partner	Thomas Bell	14′	15′ 3″	14′ 7.5″	1

 

Mini Javelin

School	A/P	Name	1st Attempt	2nd Attempt	3rd Attempt	Place
GW	Partner	Mitchell Cafolla	F	4′ 6″	F	5
GW	Partner	Anthony Le	6′ 6″	F	17′ 3″	2
HF	Athlete	Khyree Scott	9′ 8″	7′ 10″	5′ 8″	3
GW	Partner	Oluwasegen Sodeke	F	8′ 11″	8′ 5″	4
NE	Partner	Matisse Barrett	20′ 11″	24′ 8″	26′ 5″	1
MLK	Athlete	Zhaire Harris White	22′ 4″	20′ 4″	15′ 4″	3
GW	Partner	Jordan Scott	F	32′ 11″	21′ 4″	1
MLK	Athlete	Trevor Thompson	F	23′ 5″	23′ 7″	2
NE	Athlete	John Zhen	11′ 8″	15′ 3″	F	4
MLK	Athlete	India Grerson	23′ 9″	F	10′ 2″	2
HF	Athlete	Laurance Warner	22′ 7″	22′ 4″	F	3
HF	Partner	Sammy Donnie	26′ 7″	28′ 7″	21′ 2″	1
HF	Athlete	Tahlik Moon	54′ 3″	39′ 8″	44′ 10″	1
SP	Athlete	Alvin	34′ 7″	23′ 2″	F	2
GW	Athlete	Ronald Pierre	19′ 8″	F	F	4
GW	Athlete	Kassim Rollerson	22.7″	23′ 11″	24′ 11″	3
MLK	Athlete	Maurice Griffin	F	F	F	P
GW	Athlete	Aaron Wilson	28′ 7″	21′ 6″	23′ 6″	3
GW	Partner	Tiffany Sourovelis	19′ 9″	18′ 5″	21′ 4″	4
MLK	Athlete	Precious Ford	24′ 11″	34′ 11″	27′ 4″	1
GW	Athlete	Leyla Kamilova	32′ 8″	29′ 6″	27′ 4″	2
SP	Athlete	Antonio Burnett	22′ 4″	36′ 10″	39′ 11″	4
GW	Partner	Yesenia Lebron	F	44′ 5″	41′ 10″	3
MLK	Athlete	Jasir Newsome	25′ 9″	24′ 7″	36′ 9″	5
HF	Partner	Christian Moreno	58′ 7″	60′ 7″	63′ 5″	1
HF	Partner	Justice Saunders	F	50′ 3″	47′ 10″	2
MLK	Athlete	Semaj Glover	27′ 11″	F	F	4
HF	Partner	Destiny Goldmas	37′ 7″	46′ 10″	32′ 4″	3
SP	Athlete	Andre Thach	40′ 7″	34′ 1″	56′ 3″	1
GW	Athlete	Johnathan Aguliera	38′ 9″	53′ 11″	54′ 3″	2
HF	Athlete	Mike Ellis	58′ 7″	F	73′ 5″	1
NE	Athlete	Jordan Ganges	57′ 9″	29′ 6″	41′	3
MLK	Partner	Isaiah Collins	69′ 5″	57′ 5″	60′ 6″	2
NE	Partner	Fransico Correia	70′ 8″	74′ 9″	74′ 2″	2
HF		Keith Jones	F	57′ 6″	51′ 5″	4
NE	Partner	Andra Silva	57′	F	70′ 3″	3
MLK	Partner	Nagid Sawyer	47′ 1″	78′ 2″	66′ 3″	1

 

Shotput

School	A/P	Name	1st Attempt	2nd Attempt	3rd Attempt	Place
HF	Athlete	Mark Robbins	5′ 11″	5′ 10″	5′ 3″	4
NE	Athlete	Chris Chandler	7′ 1″	8′ 1″	7′	3
GW	Athlete	Brandon Taylor	7′ 7″	9′ 11″	11′ 11″	2
GW	Athlete	Elizabeth Vicario	12′ 1″	14′	15′ 5″	1
GW	Partner	Dominic Maffei	13′ 9″	12′ 9″	12′ 5″	5
NE	Athlete	Adam Loai	14′ 3″	F	15′ 10″	3
NE	Athlete	Samirah Stevens	15′ 11″	15′ 9″	15′ 8″	2
MLK	Athlete	Ludiner Chery	20′	18′ 11″	19′ 3″	1
HF	Partner	Jihara Richardson	14′ 7″	14′ 6″	14′ 11 ‘	4
HF	Athlete	Sean Washington	17′	17′ 1″	21′ 1″	3
MLK	Athlete	Dandre Young-Conner	16′ 5″	18′ 11″	18′ 5″	5
HF	Partner	Aniya Gentles	16′	17′ 5″	21′ 4″	2
GW	Athlete	Zachary Zimri	18′ 5″	19′ 2″	17′ 6″	4
GW	Athlete	Nicholas Delgado	23′ 4″	22′ 1″	21′ 3″	1
HF	Partner	Eiyreana Alford	19′ 9″	22′	21′ 4″	3
NE	Athlete	Isais Aponte	21′	22′	22′ 1″	4
SP	Athlete	Matthew Webb	22′ 2″	24′	20′ 3″	2
MLK	Athlete	OJ Harris	45′ 10″	43′ 9″	43′ 5″	1
HF	Athlete	Mikhale Chisolm Brown	33′ 1″	28′ 7″	33′ 11″	4
SP	Partner	Arturo Jimenez	36′ 7″	37′ 6″	36′ 8″	3
NE	Partner	Caio Desouza	37′ 5″	34′ 7″	37′ 9″	2
HF	Partner	Darius Hunter-McLean	43′ 4″	44′ 9″	45′ 8″	1

 

The 2018 Philadelphia Spring Games was held on Saturday, April 28, 2018, at William Penn Charter School. Athletes from Philadelphia and surrounding counties competed in athletics (track & field), basketball, and tennis. To kick off the day, athlete Raymond Anderson and John Boruk welcomed the crowd during the Opening Ceremonies. Frankford High School JROTC lead by Cadet Juvian Lopez and the West Powelton Drumline lead the Parade of Athletes  which welcomed Montgomery County’s Track Team, Philadelphia Track Team, Delaware County Tennis Team, Philadelphia Tennis Team; and basketball teams: Chester Alex Avengers A, Chester Alex Avengers B, Chester Alex Avengers C, Philly All-Stars, Philly Bandits, Philly Dreamers, Philly Hoops, Philly Huskies, Philly Phlash, Philly Rebels, Philly Rebounders, Philly Warriors, Philly Wildcats I and Philly Wildcats II. After all the athletes took their seats, Frankford High School’s JROTC presented the colors and Denine Aversa, the mother of a South Philadelphia athlete, sang that National Anthem. New Special Olympics PA – Philalephia Director, Chase Trimmer, and Special Olympics PA President and CEO, Matthew Aaron, then gave welcoming remarks and wished athletes the best of luck as they competed later in the day. After welcoming remarks, Athlete Leadership Chair, Teddy Angerman welcomed everyone and introduced the rest of the Philadelphia Athlete Leadership Team. Victoria Amaradio, an athlete from South Philadelphia, lead all athletes in the Athlete Oath prior to the highlight of the Ceremonies – the lighting of the cauldron. 

Deputy Commissioner Dennis Wilson of the Philadelphia Police Department, Cheif Dave Duffy of the Upper Gwynedd Police Department and men, women, and Police Explorers from Philadelphia and surrounding law enforcement agencies along with PECO employees, started their day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where the Flame of Hope started its journey for the day. The Law Enforcement Torch Run ran 6 miles from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to William Penn Charter to bring the Flame of Hope to Opening Ceremonies to light the cauldron. As the Law Enforcement Torch Run got to William Penn Charter, they joined special guest Bernard Hopkins and Philadelphia athletes for the final leg. As the Flame of Hope came down the track and light the cauldron, everyone cheered and the 41st annual Philadelphia Spring Games officially came to a start!

Athlete then headed to their respective venues on campus to compete. Throughout the day, spectators and coaches saw great competition and sportsmanship between the athletes. After competition, athlete were awarded medals and ribbons based on their order of finish. 

After Opening Ceremonies, Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia hosted their first every Unified Shot-put Experience where athletes got together with VIP guests to compete in the sport of shot-put. Athletes from Philadelphia who took part in this experience included Raymond Anderson, Eddie Glover, Jackie Lutts, Teddy Angerman, Sadika Smith. Athletes from Montgomery County included Robert Decker, Chip Tamagni, and Lauren Otterbein. Partners included Philadelphia Charity Ball Board members Jay Devine, Peter Cooke, and Colleen Holt-McCauley; Executive Advisory Board members Ernie Holtzheimer, Robert Croft, and Brian Monihan; Alex McConathey, and Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel. Every participant threw the shot-put twice, with their best score counting. Scores were calculated by adding each pair’s (an athlete and a partner) top throw together. In the end, Ernie Holtzheimer and Michael won with the overall high score.

Join the social conversation

#PhillySPringgames

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SOPA Philly Twitter

 

Results

Basketball

Wildcats I – 1st Place

Wildcats II – 3rd Place

 

Photos

To view all photos, click here.

Thank you to our 2018 Philadelphia Spring Games Sponsors!

THE GISH ROCKFORD FAMILY		HEALTH PARTNERS PLANS

After a weather postponement, Unified Bocce teams from George Washington High School and Hill-Freedman World Academy made their way to Camp Hill, PA on Friday, March 23 for the 2018 Interscholastic Unified Indoor Bocce State Championship. Both teams qualified for the championship after placing first in their respective divisions in the Philadelphia City Championship earlier in the season. This year, eleven high school teams advanced from seven regions of the state.  Like Geroge Washington and Hill-Freedman, each school earned a spot in this event by winning their county or city championships. Our two Philadelphia teams joined the Rochester Rams and Central Valley Warriors who represented Beaver, the Upper Dauphin Trojans who represented Dauphin, the Haverford Fords who represented Delaware, the Grove City Eagles and West Middlesex Big Reds who represented Mercer, North Penn Knights who represented Montgomery, and the North Penn Liberty Mounties who represented Tioga counties. 

During the Opening Ceremony, Mike Handleman, joined the head coach from North Penn Liberty High School, Carissa Flook, to lead the coaches in the Special Olympics Coaches Oath. Right before the Games were declared open, John Gombocz, Special Education Advisor for the PA Dept. of Education took to a bocce court to roll out our first ceremonial ball. George Washington and Hill-Freedman faced off each other in the first game with George Washington taking the win with a score of 12-2. In the next game, George Washington faced North Penn High School and lost 3-7. Hill-Freedman went up against West Middlesex High School and lost 4-11. The last round would determine where teams would end up on the podium. George Washington faced North Penn Liberty in hopes to make it to the podium with a bronze medal. Unfortunate, Geroge Washington lost in the last frame with the final score being 5-7. On the other side of the arena, Hill Freedman played Haverford High School for 7th place and ended up losing 2-10. In the end, Hill-Freedman walked away with the eighth place ribbon and Geroge Washington walked away with the fourth place ribbon. Congratulations to both schools, the athletes, partners and coaches on all of your hard work and making it to the state championships. You all truly live out the vision of Unified.

Teams:

George Washington Eagles	Hill-Freedman High School
Alyssa Henry, Senior Kaitlyn Pemper, Senior Karen Hua, Senior Faheem Rucker, Junior Nikolas Feaster, Junior Isaiah Jackson, Junior Perla Ayala, Sophomore Ivri McDaniel, Sophomore Yvonne Schwiker, Coach Lori Solomon, Coach	Conrad Edwards, Senior Sean Washington, Senior Laurance Warner, Senior Mark Robbins, Senior Justice Saunders, Junior Justin Berry, Junior Anniya Gentles, Freshman Jibard Richardson, Freshman Mike Handelman, Coach Joseph Moore, Coach

 

Photos:

For all photos from the event from Photography by Dane, click here.

Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia held its 1st Philadelphia Gymnastics Meet on March 10, 2018, at Temple University’s Pearson-McGonigle Hall. Gymnasts from Bethlehem, Lebanon, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties compete in Rhythmic, Men’s Artistic, and Women’s Artistic gymnastics. Rhythmic Gymnastics consists of four different floor exercises including a rope routine, hoop routine, ball or clubs routine and a ribbon routine. Women’s Artistic Gymnastics events include bars, beam, floor, and vault. Men’s Artistic Gymnastics includes floor, vault, high bar, rings, parallel bar, and pommel horse.  It was an exciting day of competition that started with an Opening Ceremony. After the Parade of Athlete, Philadelphia County athlete, Megan Murphy, sang the national anthem, Matthew Aaron, President and CEO of Special Olympics PA, and Umme Salim-Beasley, Temple University Women’s Gymnastics head coach offered words of wisdom and wished the athletes luck in this first annual meet. Prior to the official opening of competition, Hanna Gremo, Montgomery County athlete and USA Games team member,  carried in the Flame of Hope. NCAA Athletes from Temple University’s Women’s and Men’s gymnastics program served as volunteers and judges and were enthusiastic supporters of the over 60 Special Olympics athletes who participated. Congratulations to all athletes! 

Photos

Photo Credit: Rick Mankin

Click here for all photos by Rick Mankin

Results

Rhythmic

Level C	23 & Under Kylie Diaz (Bethlehem)
	24 – 29 Nina Garcia (Montgomery) Mary Nolan (Montgomery) Helen Spiewak (Montgomery)
	30 + Kim Frain (Bethlehem) Heather Gold (Bethlehem) Jaclyn Bothwell (Montgomery)
Level 1	Kathleen Dezubay (Bethlehem) Amanda Reiss (Bethlehem) Dedra Sobol (Bethlehem)
Level 2	Brittany Thayer (Bethlehem)

 

Men’s Artistic 

Level 1	9 & Under Daniel Eichberg (Montgomery)  Sai Vellapalem Elijah Millington (Bethlehem)
	10 Chase Rummel (Lebanon) Ben Greenwood (Montgomery)
	11-12 Jeremy DeBrest (Philadelphia) David Norris (Philadelphia)
	17+ Shawn Moton (Philadelphia) Michael Paulinski (Montgomery) Ryan Taylor (Montgomery) Brian Smith (Bethlehem)
Level 2	14 & Under Anthony Skirzenski (Lebanon) Luke Jones (Philadelphia) Aaron Arnold (Montgomery)
	15 + Joseph Polizzi (Montgomery)
Level 3	Christian White (Montgomery)

 

Women’s Artistic

Level 1	13 & Under Kyrie Troche (Bethlehem) Vanessa Bonowitz (Montgomery) Sarah Drinen  (Philadelphia)
	14 – 15 Amerie Aldridge (Montgomery) Sara Mills (Montgomery) Gigi Accooe  (Philadelphia) Jasmin Marin (Philadelphia)
Level 2	18 & Under Hanna Gremo* (Montgomery) Abigail Woodling (Montgomery) Amber Sobiesiak (Lebanon)
	19+ Zarrah Vitale (Bethlehem) Danielle Ditzler (Lebanon) Aubrey Tillman  (Philadelphia)
Level 3	Megan Murphy  (Philadelphia) Danielle Dixon (Bethlehem) Shannon Delmar (Montgomery) Kara Devlin (Montgomery)

 

*USA Games Athlete

 

Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia held their 33rd Annual Leprechaun Run presented by TMNA Services on Saturday, March 10th at Schuylkill Banks Palapa. It was a chilly morning – starting around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, making it feel like a winter day rather than an almost-spring day. Over 700 participants participated in either the Lucky 7-Mile Race, Classic 5-Mile Race, or 2-Mile Fun Run/Walk. The event opened with welcoming remarks from the co-emcees athlete, Emmett Abdo and Today’s 96.5 host, Bennett, along with a performance by Celtic Flame School of Irish Dance. Before the race kicked off, Abdo led the crowd in the athlete oath of, “Let me win. If I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” Participants were then on their way to complete one of the first races of the season. As participants finished, they munched on snacks and waited for the results. 

Before the event, the Young Professionals Committee (YPC) hosted their annual Pre-Leprechaun Run Happy Hour on Thursday, March 8th at Fette Sau in Fishtown. The warm and welcoming atmosphere inside was the perfect contrast to the chilly March evening outside, which attracted a large number of Fishtown Runners as well as the general public. In no time, the restaurant was a full house. During the event, participants/ enjoyed extended happy hour specials ranging from a variety of craft beers and hard cider to smoked chicken legs and brisket sandwiches. Guests had the opportunity to enter some exciting raffles, including an autographed Nick Foles framed photograph, and try their luck at the inaugural “Beer Toss” thanks to donations from local vendors and YPC members!  As conversation centered on weekend plans and the upcoming Leprechaun Run, the attention was brought to the center of the bar when raffles were pulled. Overall, the event was a great success for YPC and Special Olympics Philadelphia. Thank you to all participants and donors!

Join the social conversation on Facebook and Twitter, and don’t forget to use #LeprechaunRun

Photos

View all photos here

 

Results

Click here to view results. Please note, the link takes you to the Lucky 7-Mile Race results. 

Thank you to our 2018 Leprechaun Run Sponsors!

Special Olympics PA  – Philadelphia partnered with Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) to host the first Med Buddies on Friday, March 9th! More than 50 Special Olympics Unified teammates were invited to spend the day at PCOM. Students in PCOM’s Advocate for Individuals with Disabilities (AID) class and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Special Olympics committee opened their campus to elementary school students from Juniata Park Academy, Universal Daroff Charter, and William H. Loesche, working alongside them in a morning filled with physical fitness, arts and crafts, and health and wellness activities.

MedBuddies paired two Unified teammates with a PCOM student which allowed the teammates to learn from their ‘medbuddy,’ while the students got to get a glimpse into what it is like to work with individuals with intellectual disabilities that Special Olympics serves in Philadelphia. They got to play basketball, run a relay race, make x-rays with construction paper and cotton swabs, and listen to one another’s hearts with a stethoscope. 

PCOM was an incredible host. The Special Olympics teammates were treated incredibly well. Special Olympics Philadelphia hopes to continue this event in the future as we continue to look to better serve the K to 5 population of the city. Click here to see the awesome video recap PCOM made! 

Photos of First Med Buddies

 

In the News

Students Welcome ‘Buddies’ from Special Olympics