A Busy Sports Day This Saturday, September 28th
Manchester, NH (September 26, 2019) – Saturday, September 28th promises to be a busy day for Special Olympics athletes in New Hampshire. The day starts at the State Softball Tournament at the LAFA Fields on Sargent Road in Londonderry. The competitions are slow pitch and individual skills. Check-in for the day begins at 8 AM. Nearly 200 athletes and their Unified Sports Partners will start the competition with round-robin assessment games at 8:30 AM. Medal rounds start at 10:45. Special Olympics Unified Sports® is an inclusive sports program that combines Special Olympics athletes (individuals with intellectual disabilities) and partners (individuals without intellectual disabilities) on teams for training and competition. Following a break for lunch, individual competitions will get underway at 11:30 AM. The Individual Skills competition will consist of performance measures in fielding, throwing, batting, and base running. The day is expected to wrap up around 4pm.
Teams competing this year include Team Barrington/Seacoast Sluggers, Concord Golden Eagles, Crotched Mountain, Hudson’s Eagles and Emus, Keene, as well as Plus Pride and Blazing Thunder from Nashua.
Volunteer support for the State Softball Tournament includes personnel from New England Fusion Fastpitch and the Nashua Police Department. New England Fusion Fastpitch will also provide a live stream of the events. SONH social media platforms will have links to the live stream posted on the day of the event. New England Fusion Board President Rob Galan states “We are honored to once again work with Special Olympics New Hampshire on their state tournament. As a not for profit organization, the Fusion is committed to helping our local communities and Special Olympics is a great opportunity for us to do just that. As usual, we had players, coaches, and parents all volunteer to help out and we thank them all!”
Meanwhile, some 75 miles away, approximately 100 SONH athletes will be gathering in Claremont for the Upper Valley Area Fall Games at two locations on Maple Avenue. It’s a day of competition in both candlepin and ten pin bowling. Check-in and opening ceremonies will take place at the Maple Avenue School beginning at 8:30 AM. Competition at Maple Lanes gets underway at 11 AM. This event is organized by the employees of Hypertherm, Incorporated. “Hypertherm is honored to support Special Olympics New Hampshire and its mission to create a new world of inclusion and community, where every single person is accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability or disability. Though organizing the regional fall games each year is a large undertaking, the joy we see on the athletes faces as they compete makes it all worth it.” according to Hypertherm Communications Manager Michelle Avila.
About Special Olympics New Hampshire
Special Olympics New Hampshire (SONH) is an accredited program of Special Olympics International (SOI) and is part of an international global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Ericson
603-624-1250 Ext. 22
MarkE@sonh.org