Winter Games Press Recap

We were so lucky to have a huge media presence at the 2020 Winter Games at Seven Springs! We gathered all the links, stories and moments from the interwebs and collected them all here so you can see what the Games looked like through the media’s eyes.

From WTAJ: 43rd annual Special Olympics Winter Games kick-off at Seven Springs

From WJAC: Snowboarding added to Special Olympics PA Winter Games

From WTAE: Special Olympics PA Winter Games Opening Ceremonies held Sunday night

From The Tribune Democrat: Athletes from across the state chase medals, have fun at Winter Games

From The Pittsburgh Tribune: Editorial: Special Olympics are exceptional

From The Daily American: Somerset Delegate lights special olympics torch

From WJAC: Special Olympics PA Winter Games opening ceremonies

SOPA partners with Eastern Lycoming YMCA

Special Olympics Pennsylvania and the Eastern Lycoming YMCA have joined together to increase fitness and training opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Both organizations share a similar mission that works to improve the quality of life and well-being for the community, and the partnership will serve athletes in Bradford/Sullivan, Clinton, Lycoming and Tioga Counties.

The partnership will help alleviate the struggle to find suitable locations to train athletes and host local competitions. Athletes in the Special Olympic Programs will have access to Y facilities where they can train for competitive meets, improve fitness levels and build conditioning skills needed to meet the physical challenges of sports training. Athletes can also train for Olympic-type sports year round as opposed to their current 8-week sessions.

Athletes attend pancake breakfast at Knights of Columbus

On Sunday, two of our Montgomery County athletes had the opportunity to attend the Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast at St. Thomas More Parish in Pottstown. Celine Heffron-Pero and Trevor Ciampoli joined Doreen Storey (Director of Development, East) to help spread the word about Special Olympics Pennsylvania programming. Keith Brown of the Knights of Columbus is pictured with Celine and Trevor.

Shaler Area bocce team featured in Pittsburgh Tribune

One of our many talented Unifed Bocce teams across the state, the team from Shaler Area High School, was recently featured in the Pittsburgh Tribune!

“We are really working on the partnership between athlete and partner so that they can boost each other and cheer each other and help each other through the matches, and we’re really working on those relationships to make them beneficial out on the bocce court as well as throughout the school.”

Assistant Coach Christin Pintar

To read the full story, follow this link!

Pittsburgh Sunday Morning interview for the #PGHPolarPlunge

Our very own Allegheny County athlete Chris Jagielski was joined by our Vice President of Development, Kraig Makohus as guests on Jonny Hartwell‘s radio show, Pittsburgh Sunday Morning — a public affairs show on the iHeart Radio Pittsburgh channels. The interview aired today on multiple Pittsburgh stations and we’re thrilled to be able to have such awesome members of our team help promote the Pittsburgh Polar Plunge!

To listen to the full interview, follow this link.

To sign up for the Plunge on Feb. 29, click here!