Join us at 2025 Summer Games: June 5-7
MORE THAN 2,000 ATHLETES SET TO COMPETE AT SPECIAL OLYMPICS PENNSYLVANIA’S SUMMER GAMES AT PENN STATE UNIVERSITY, JUNE 5 – 7
Hundreds of Volunteers Needed for 3-Day Statewide Competition
(NORRISTOWN, PA, May 7, 2025) – Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) will hold its 55th Annual Summer Games, presented by Sheetz, at Penn State University in State College, PA, from Thursday, June 5 through Saturday, June 7, 2025. Summer Games is the largest statewide competition bringing more than 2,000 athletes and 800 coaches from across Pennsylvania to compete in six sports (aquatics, athletics, basketball, equestrian, gymnastics, and tennis). Weeks of hard work and dedication in training will be rewarded as athletes are cheered on and supported during this three-day competition by hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers.
To host a successful Summer Games, SOPA is inviting local community members to come out and volunteer. Volunteers are needed to serve in sports-specific roles including scorekeepers, runners, timers, lane monitors, announcers, judges, and more. Also, logistics roles, including athlete arrival, luggage assistance, and equipment tear down. Most volunteer shifts are three to four hours long, and you can choose to volunteer for one or multiple days. Please visit www.SpecialOlympicsPA.org/Become-A-Volunteer and register to volunteer today!
The 2025 Summer Games will also serve as preparation and vital training for athletes competing in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 91 athletes and Unified Partners and 25 coaches will represent Team PA next June. SOPA is eager to support Team PA athletes and representatives and would love to promote these achievements to the local community.
Summer Games will kick off with preliminary competitions on Thursday, June 5, followed by the traditional fanfare of Opening Ceremony at Medlar Field, beginning at 7:15 p.m. This year’s Opening Ceremony will be held at Medlar Field in partnership with the State College Spikes and will feature an exciting new addition! As athletes arrive at Medlar Stadium, they’ll be treated to ice cream and a thrilling action sports demo by professional athletes. Watch as bikes, scooters, and skates perform jaw-dropping flips, jumps, and twists over ramps! Athletes can enjoy their ice cream while catching all the live action.
The Opening Ceremonies will end with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron by the Flame of Hope carried by participants of the 14th annual “Be a Fan” Torch Run. The Torch Run is a 3-day, 150-mile run from Pittsburgh to State College. More than 500 members of law enforcement representing over 50 teams from across the state will carry the torch from home plate at PNC Park in Pittsburgh to Medlar Field in State College.
In addition, to being SOPA’s largest competition, Summer Games also offers athletes access to life changing health screening. SOPA’s Healthy Athletes program will be held at the IM Fields next to Olympic Village and give the athletes a chance to get general wellness, physical therapy, vision, audiology, dental, and podiatry health screenings. This year, Allegheny Health Network's Chill Room will be available, where athletes and coaches will have the opportunity to practice mindfulness and learn coping skills. The Chill Room is available to help participants prepare for their next event or relax in a quiet space. Both Healthy Athletes and the Chill Room will be available Thursday, June 5 from 1 to 5 p.m. and Friday, June 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Healthy Athletes program provides health services and education to Special Olympics athletes free of charge and is changing the way health systems interact with people with intellectual disabilities. The program has now made Special Olympics the largest public health organization for people with intellectual disabilities in the world.
On Friday, June 6, competition will begin as early as 8 a.m. at six venues in individual skills, individual events, relay and team events. The day will conclude with Sports Fest and a Victory Dance at the IM Fields from 7 to 9 p.m., which will feature a DJ, dancing, field games and fun outdoor activities. Final competitions and awards are scheduled at each venue between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 7.
The complete Summer Games tentative event schedule is available at www.SpecialOlympicsPA.org/Summer-Games.
This year marks the 55th year that Penn State University will host Summer Games, and the 31st year that Sheetz, Inc. will serve as a state-wide corporate partner. Sponsors include: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Knights of Columbus.
2024 Summer Games Photos can be found here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBtV7X
About Special Olympics Pennsylvania
Special Olympics Pennsylvania provides year-round training and competition in 21 Olympic-type sports to approximately 15,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities or closely related developmental disabilities. For more information about how you can join “The Inclusion Revolution,” visit www.specialolympicspa.org.
From the Desk of the CEO: April 2025
From the Desk of the CEO: April 2025
Dear Special Olympics Pennsylvania Community,
This is the first of what will become regular updates “from the desk of the CEO.” Several times per year (approximately quarterly), I will provide insights and updates on topics and events that are important to our Movement and share my perspectives as the CEO. I wanted to start this month by addressing something that recently sparked, in less than a week, the most engagement across all social media platforms that we’ve ever seen.
Risks Worth Taking
As some of you may know, I began my career as a Naval Flight Officer flying off aircraft carriers. Flight operations on a moving ship, at night, and in bad weather are inherently risky. But, these operations are conducted routinely. The risks are not cavalierly ignored – they are mitigated and managed to levels deemed acceptable. They are risks worth taking in order to accomplish the mission.
While the operations of Special Olympics are very different than carrier flight operations, we are also confronted with risks. As an organization, we should not be afraid to take risks. But, the risks we take should be worth taking.
Recently, a moment of unfiltered passion about Special Olympics Pennsylvania went viral when comedian Shane Gillis—who has a family member who competes as a SOPA athlete—declared, “Special Olympics PA… that sh*t rocks!” at a live event, moments before he and Pat McAfee each donated $50,000 to support our athletes.
In one raw, unfiltered sentence, Shane captured what so many of us feel in our hearts but often express differently or perhaps don’t say at all. This Movement does rock! It’s bold. It’s emotional. It’s gritty. It’s real. It’s powerful. But for some, the language was unexpected—even uncomfortable. And that’s where the conversation really began.
The video from this event resonated with a broad, younger audience and instantly went viral, offering us a powerful opportunity to amplify our message of inclusion in new spaces to reach individuals who might not have been familiar with SO and/or may have had misperceptions about people with ID. If we were going to tap into this viral moment, we knew that we had to act quickly. We also knew we were taking a risk, and by acting on this moment some people might love it and others might be upset.
This moment also sparked a second conversation – one that was a bit surprising but also necessary – a conversation about inclusion. True inclusion isn’t just access to sports. It’s a seat at the table. We cannot ask the world to see our athletes as full, respected, contributing adults if we’re not doing so ourselves. That means giving them the microphone. That means trusting them with leadership. And, that means they show up in the mainstream, on social media, in moments of humor, strength, and pride – just like everyone else.
I consulted with several stakeholders before we launched our brief campaign, including our board, Special Olympics North America, and some external partners. After those consultations, I deemed that the risks were worth taking in order to reach a new audience and meet them where they were, and I gave the “green light” to proceed.
Responses overall were positive (favorable reactions outweighed negative ones by more than 10 to 1). That said, we respect and understand that the tone of this campaign may not feel appropriate or comfortable to everyone. I am sorry that some were offended, and I appreciate the many differing perspectives that were shared.
Moving forward, you will continue to see us take risks, if and when we believe those risks are worth taking. They won’t all be “edgy” risks like the most recent case, but you will see us push boundaries that may make some people uncomfortable. Here are two examples. First, we are on the cutting edge of implementing new technology for the Movement. You should already be familiar with the volunteer portal that was launched last year, and most of you have heard about the new athlete registration portal being launched this Spring. These developments are part of a broader global effort called the “Digital Center of Excellence (COE),” and SOPA is one of several state Programs working with Special Olympics, Inc. on the development effort. By being one of the first Programs to employ this technology (and we were the very first Program in the world to go live with the volunteer portal!), we have an important voice in shaping the design of the system and setting priorities for development. But, there is also more risk by being first. Even though our staff team is working diligently with the COE developers to identify and address challenges during development and testing phases so that users – athletes, families, and volunteers – won’t encounter these problems when they use the system, there is always some risk that there will be “bugs” or kinks that have to be ironed out. We deemed these risks acceptable in order to position SOPA as a leader in the Movement and to enable us to deliver solutions to our constituents as quickly as possible.
The second example involves our work to create a “Future of Sports” vision. We have been working not only with many SOPA staff and volunteers but also leaders from other Special Olympics Programs and SO North America to create a vision for the future of our program and service offerings. Some of the early fruit from those efforts is the addition of a 4th season and our upcoming softball and golf championships this summer.
As we look to the future and how to best meet the needs and desires of our athletes, we will continue to push boundaries and take risks that are worth taking. Please know that none of this changes who we are or what we’re about – building a more joyful and inclusive world. This is not about abandoning our past – it’s about building on it. And, it’s about expanding the circle—not changing who belongs in it.
I’ll share more about our work and our vision for 2030 in future newsletter updates. Until then, thank you ALL for your passion and support on this journey together. The best is yet to come!
Summer Sports Sign-Ups Are Open!
Summer Sports Sign-Ups: April 15 - May 15
We are gearing up for our Summer Sports season and invite all athletes and volunteers to SIGN UP TODAY!
2025 Unified Bocce State Champions: Blackhawk High School
Over 427 Special Olympics Pennsylvania Unified Champion School bocce teams competed this year. Eight teams made it to the Interscholastic PIAA Unified Bocce Championship. One team went home State Champions.
That team is none other than the Blackhawk Cougars.
The competition we witnessed at the GIANT Center was remarkable. The precision, the focus, the sportsmanship, the camaraderie, the excitement, the determination. But with a game-winning roll in the semi-final round, Blackhawk had their sights set on the Championship Title.
TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT, FOLLOW THIS LINK!
Blackhawk's bocce team is more than just a team. They're best friends. A family. They look out for one another, and are focused on being their best, together. Throughout the last few years, they've taken the time to bond and connect on a deeper level to bring this opportunity to the table. And they delivered.
Congratulations to Blackhawk High School on this incredible accomplishment, and soak in your new title as 2025 Interscholastic Unified Bocce State Champions! Meet the team behind the success:
🏆 Will Brown
🏆 Jaheim Prejean
🏆 Jeremiah Prejean
🏆 Lucas Nitsche
🏆 Jack Masterson
🏆 Olivia Gibbons
🏆 Matt Greene
🏆 Max Sprinker
🏆 Sean Korff
🏆 Savannah Greene
2025 World Winter Games: Pennsylvania Athletes Win TEN Medals in Italy!
Special Olympics Pennsylvania is beyond proud to have seven athletes and three coaches as members of Special Olympics USA who competed and coached at the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Torino, Italy! To learn more about how these awesome athletes did, visit our World Games webpage!
❄️ Justin Grimley, Snowshoeing: Silver (200m), 4th (100m)
❄️ Kaitie Grove, Alpine Skiing: Bronze (Novice Giant Slalom), Fourth (Novice Super G), DQ (Novice Slalom)
❄️ Tamsin Hircock, Snowboarding: Bronze (Intermediate Super G), 5th (Intermediate Slalom), Bronze (Intermediate Giant Slalom)
❄️ Alysa Jones, Alpine Skiing: Bronze (Intermediate Slalom), Bronze (Intermedia Giant Slalom), 5th (Intermediate Super G)
❄️ Janna Novatski, Alpine Skiing: DQ (Intermediate Super G and Giant Slalom)
❄️ Lisa Robinson, Speed Skating:Gold (500m), Silver (333m), Silver (777m)
❄️ Jesse Rohrer, Alpine Skiing: Gold (Intermediate Super G), 8th (Intermediate Giant Slalom), 8th (Intermediate Slalom)
❄️ Lester Loner
❄️ Lin Huber
❄️ Kristie Reid