SOPA's 6th Athlete Congress to Take Place from August 27th - 28th
Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) will be hosting its sixth Athlete Congress from August 27th-28th. Basic information on Athlete Congress can be found in this flyer which contains a link to the full registration information and instructions for registering. In order to attend Athlete Congress, you need to be a trained Athlete Representative and receive approval from your Manager/Team Leader. Non-Athlete Representatives may only attend Athlete Congress if:
- Their Program/Team doesn’t have an Athlete Representative to send
- Athlete is willing to be trained as an Athlete Representative in 2023 if they are unable to attend one of the sessions this July
The deadline to register for Athlete Congress is Friday, August 12th.
SOPA to Host First In-Person Athlete Leadership University Graduation Since 2019
Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) is proud to announce that it will be hosting its first in person Athlete Leadership University graduation ceremony since 2019! The ceremony will be taking place Saturday, August 27th at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center from 5:00-8:00 PM.
In addition to recognizing this year’s graduating class, the classes of 2020 and 2021 will get an opportunity to walk as well. To see whose currently eligible to graduate from Athlete Leadership University, along with the members of the classes of 2020 and 2021, click here! If you believe you are eligible to graduate this year, please log into your profile in SOPA’s online portal. Once logged in, please go to the Athlete Leadership opportunities tab and select the role for the practicum you need to submit. Here are the requirements for all practicums. As a reminder, Athlete Representatives and Global Messengers only need to complete one course now:
- Athlete Representative-Minimum of six capstone projects.
- Global Messenger: Minimum of six speeches.
- Health and Fitness Coordinator: Offering health and fitness club activities at least once a month for at least six months
If you have been confirmed eligible to graduate, please contact your Manager/Team Leader ASAP to register yourself, your Mentor and any other friends/family that wish to attend the ceremony via this form. The deadline to register is Friday, August 12th.
Spots Still Open at SOPA's Athlete Leadership University Sessions!
Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) will be hosting two Athlete Leadership University sessions with plenty of spots still open at each of them. More information and instructions for registering for each session can be found here:
- July 30th-31st, Athlete Representative and Healthy Lifestyles at the Sheetz Operations Center in Claysburg, PA
- August 6th-7th, Global Messenger at the Ramada in State College, PA
In order to attend, athletes must be at least 16 years of age and have a current Class A volunteer to serve as a Mentor. Starting in 2022, SOPA is also allowing Unified Champion School participants to also attend Athlete Leadership University, as long as they are approved by Program Manager/Team Leader like any other Athlete Leader.
In addition to training new Athlete Leaders, these sessions are also open to previously trained Athlete Leaders that have been in-active and are looking to get re-activated.
SOPA Announces Athlete Leadership University Summer Sessions
SOPA will be hosting three Athlete Leadership University sessions this summer, with registration for two of them now open!
- Session I: July 9th-10th
- Taking place at Sheetz Operations Center in Claysburg, PA
- Courses offered will be Athlete Representative and Global Messenger
- Click here for registration information.
- Session II: July 30th-31st
- Taking place at Sheetz Operations Center in Claysburg, PA
- Courses offered will be Athlete Representative and Healthy Lifestyles
- Click here for registration information.
- Session III: August 6th-7th
- Taking place at Ramada in State College, PA
- Course offered will be Global Messenger
- Registration information coming soon!
Prior to registering, all athletes must receive their Local Program Manager/Director’s approval. If an athlete doesn’t know who their Manager/Director is, they can find their name and contact information here.
Please contact Jordan Schubert at
2020 Athlete Congress Priority Report Out
In 2020, SOPA hosted its 5th Athlete Congress in which the Priority was “Improve Quality of Athlete Experience”. Each Athlete Representative was split into two breakout groups in which both groups were asked to address two different sets of three questions. Over the past year, SOPA staff have reviewed the feedback provided from each question and developed an outcome on how they currently are/plan on addressing it. This feedback was reported out to the Board of Directors during the 4th quarter meeting and may be continually discussed where appropriate between now and the end of the current Strategic Plan in 2024.