Vermont Business Magazine OnSaturday, June 30, the nineteen-member delegation from Special Olympics Vermont will be on their way to Seattle for the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. FromJuly 1-6, Team Vermont will join thousands of Special Olympics athletes and coaches from across the nation, along with tens of thousands of volunteers, family members and fans, for a week of special events and competitions in 14 team and individual sports.
“We are so proud of Team Vermont and the hard work they have put in to prepare for the USA Games,” says Sue Minter, President and CEO of Special Olympics Vermont. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these athletes to compete on the nation stage and be at the center of a fifty-year-old movement that has grown into an inclusion revolution.”
Team Vermont includes fourteen participants, four coaches, and a volunteer Head of Delegation. Athletes include Michelle Olden of Brownington and Aaron Sanville of Greensboro Bend who will compete in athletics (track & field) under the direction of their coach, Selina Hunter. Christopher Mitchell of Sudbury and Zada Anderson of Jericho will compete in swimming with support from their coach, Chad Phalon. The Unified basketball team from Champlain Valley Union High School – made of up students with and without intellectual disabilities who train and compete together – will compete in the interscholastic Unified basketball division. This team includes Lindsey Albertelli, Haley Clos, Kevin Conger, Wayne Elias, Robert Ellis-Clark, Paul Keen, Shannon Loiseau, Graham Walker, Erin Watson, and Gary Whalon. Peter Booth and Anthony Spagnolo coach this team.
Team Vermont’s journey at the USA Games begins with the Opening Ceremony on Sunday, July 1, where they will march in the Parade of Athletes in front of thousands of spectators at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium. ESPN, the official media partner of the 2018 USA Games, will telecast the Opening Ceremony live on ABC beginning at12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET.
Leading into the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games kick off in Seattle, WA, an elite group of individuals will serve as the “Guardians of the Flame” and escort the Special Olympics Flame of Hope on a journey across Washington state. Trooper Callie Field with the Vermont State Police in Derby, VT is among those who will make up this prestigious Final Leg team for the Law Enforcement Torch Run.
FromJune 27 through June 30, the LETR Final Leg team will conduct multiple runs and ceremonies in cities, towns and communities across Washington state to raise awareness for Special Olympics and generate excitement for the 2018 USA Games. The 2018 LETR Final Leg culminates onJuly 1, when the team escorts the Flame of Hope into the Opening Ceremony at Husky Stadium at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Community members are encouraged to follow Team Vermont’s progress throughout the USA Games via social media and nightly coverage on Local 22/44 stations. Coverage throughout the Games will be delivered by ESPN, the official media partner of the 2018 USA Games.
Facebook & Instagram: @specialolympicsvermont Twitter: @SOVT https://specialolympicsvermont.org/
About Special Olympics Vermont
Special Olympics is part of a 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 included 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. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 5.7 million athletes and Unified partners in 172 countries. With the support of more than 1 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and over 108,000 games and competitions throughout the year. Special Olympics is supported by individuals, foundations and partners. Click here for a full list of partners. Engage with us on: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and our blog on Medium.
About the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games
The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games will be held in Seattle, Washington July 1-6, 2018. More than 4,000 participants representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, along with the support of tens of thousands of volunteers and spectators, will compete in 14 Olympic-type team and individual sports. The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games will celebrate the Special Olympics movement and its 50th anniversary; promote the ideals of acceptance and inclusion through sport; and showcase athletes from throughout the U.S. and the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities. The 2018 USA Games will also highlight Special Olympics’ work in sport, education, health and community-building.
For more information on the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games, please visit SpecialOlympicsUSAGames.org and follow on Facebook (@SpecialOlympicsUSAGames), Twitter (@2018USAGames) and Instagram (@SpecialOlympicsUSAGames).
About Law Enforcement Torch Run
The Law Enforcement Torch Run ® (LETR) is the largest public awareness vehicle and grass-roots fundraiser for Special Olympics. Known honorably as Guardians of the Flame, law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes carry the “ Flame of Hope ” into the Opening Ceremony of local competitions, and into Special Olympics State, Provincial, National, Regional and World Games.
Annually, more than 97,000 dedicated and compassionate law enforcement members carry the “Flame of Hope,” symbolizing courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe. Since inception, LETR has raised more than half a billion dollars and changed millions of attitudes.