Program areas at Special Olympics Ohio
2022 grass roots local sports programs - the state of Ohio has 129 community based Special Olympics programs. Over 15,000 athletes participate in 750 sports programs throughout the year. The programs have weekly practices and periodic competitions against other programs that culminate to the regional and state level. The current sports programs offered include alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, basketball skills, basketball teams, aquatics, competitive cheer, softball skills, softball teams, flag football, golf, equestrian, track & field, bocce, bowling, gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, tennis and volleyball.
2022 unified champion schools/healthy athlete activities - in 2022, Special Olympics Ohio recruited 25 new schools from across the state, bringing our total to 137 (across 63 school districts). Athletes participated in 5,578 unified sports experiences, created 40 inclusive youth leadership teams, and held 44 whole school engagement events. In the 2022 school year, Special Olympics Ohio was able to develop athletes' skills and offer competitive play in full seasons of flag football, soccer, basketball, cheer, track and field, and cornhole, including representation at the state flag football tournament, national unified basketball collegiate tournament, usa games, and the national unified bowling championships. The unified champion schools inclusion movement created innovative and impactful programming for students with and without disabilities, along with their families and communities. In addition, 920 Special Olympics athletes received medical screenings for sight, hearing, dental and overall fitness as part of Special Olympics Ohio's healthy athletes initiative.
2022 state sponsored competitions/usa games - 3,980 Special Olympics athletes and unified partners participated in the multi-day events for track and field, soccer, power lifting, volleyball, gymnastics, bocce, bowling, skiing, basketball, swimming, cheer, golf, flag football and softball. These events took place all over Ohio including bgsu, osu, sandusky, canton and cincinnati. Additionally, in 2022 over 5,000 Special Olympics athletes were invited to the usa games including 140 from Ohio, along with 400 others included in the delegation. This event happens every 4 years and this year was held on orlando, Florida.