Program areas at Special Olympics Ohio
2021 state fall games/healthy athletes - 935 Special Olympics athletes and unified partners participated in the multi-day events for equestrian, flag football and softball. 278 coaches and chaperones were part of the competition. In addition, 639 Special Olympics athletes received medical screenings for sight, hearing, dental and overall fitness as part of Special Olympics Ohio's healthy athletes initiative.
Virtual and all other activities - as a result of covid-19, along with state and local guidelines, Special Olympics programs engaged their Special Olympics athletes in virtual and "at home" activities. Special Olympics Ohio program activities were limited to an array of online and virtual activities. 1204 athletes participated in Special Olympics Ohio's "fitness influencer challenge" helping them to keep active and improve overall fitness. In addition, 1,439 athletes, volunteers, and coaches participated in weekly virtual activities through the "we thrive together organization. These virtual activities included sports specific training sessions, social activities, and games and entertainment. In addition, our development team did an excellent job developing new individual, corporate and service club donor sources, despite the pandemic, positioning Special Olympics Ohio for increased activities and programs in 2021.
2021 unified champion schools activities - in 2021, Special Olympics Ohio recruited 31 new schools from across the state, bringing our total to 112 (across 54 school districts). Athletes participated in 2,709 unified sports experiences, 15 youth leadership experiences, and 20 whole-school engagement experiences. During remote learning in the second half of the 2020-2021 school year, the Special Olympics Ohio unified champion schools team created at-home skills kits for basketball, fitness, and literacy. In the start of the 2021-2022 school year, the team was able to return to play with full seasons of flag football, cornhole, cheer, and basketball, including representation at the state flag football tournament. The unified champion schools inclusion movement created innovative and impactful programming for students with and without disabilities. .