Grimes, IA – The annual Special Olympics Iowa (SOIA) Unified Sports Day at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon will be held Saturday, December 16. SOIA athletes from Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Dubuque, Mt. Vernon, the Quad Cities, Vinton and the surrounding area are expected to attend. They will partner with Cornell College students for a day of unified activities.
Special Olympics Iowa Unified Sports is an initiative that brings together Special Olympics athletes and athletes without intellectual disabilities (called partners) on sports teams for training and competition. “This is not a day of competition, but instead a day of awareness,” said Special Olympics Iowa Director of Unified Programs, Bryan Coffey. “Cornell College students can spend time with Special Olympics athletes and learn about persons with intellectual disabilities,” Coffey says. “The Special Olympics Iowa athletes in turn get to spend time with college students and learn about them.”
Registration is at 8:30 a.m., and the event lasts until 1 p.m. Cornell College students will partner with SOIA athletes to participate in basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, bean bag toss, ladder ball, football pass, soccer kick, dance and ball darts.
WHAT: Special Olympics Iowa Unified Sports Day
WHO: Special Olympics Iowa and Cornell University
WHEN: Saturday, December 16, 2017
TIME: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: Cornell College- Small Multi-sport Center, 600 1st Street Southwest, Mt. Vernon
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About Special Olympics Iowa: Special Olympics Iowa (SOIA), a statewide nonprofit organization, provides high-quality training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in all 99 counties of Iowa. SOIA offers 23 Olympic-style sports to more than 14,000 athletes and Unified Sports partners year-round.
Since 1968, Special Olympics has provided an inclusive culture that stresses athletic excellence, rewards determination, emphasizes health and celebrates personal achievement. Through Special Olympics sports training and competition, children and adults with intellectual disabilities reach their full potential and experience inclusion in their communities every day.
