Nearly 1,000 Special Olympics Wisconsin (SOWI) athletes competed at the 2013 State Outdoor Sports Tournament (OST) on Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4 at Carroll University, the Moor Downs Golf Course and the Saratoga Softball Complex in Waukesha. Hundreds of coaches, volunteers and fans cheered on SOWI athletes in bocce, tennis, golf, softball and tee ball.
SOWI athlete Jessica Williams kicked off the weekend's competition, participating in golf on Saturday morning.
“My favorite part of the tournament was getting to play at a new golf course,” said Williams, who has been involved with SOWI for seven years. “It was fun trying out my game at a new place.”
Athletes had many fans cheering them on throughout the weekend and members of the Project UNFY® Youth Activation Committee searched the stands at Carroll University and Saratoga Field for the “Ultimate Fan”. A dozen contestants entered and after much contemplation, the athlete judges, Robert Rappe (6-16 Waunakee) and Amanda Hefty (6-12 West Madison), awarded the title of “Ultimate Fan” to SOWI Coach Wendy Powers from Oregon, Wisconsin who was there to cheer on her two sisters, Eileen and Lynn.
As part of Special Olympics Healthy Athletes®, medical professionals completed free, onsite dental, foot, blood pressure and bone mineral density screenings. Healthy Athletes works to improve each athlete’s ability to train and compete in Special Olympics through healthcare screenings, exams and education.
This year, Special Olympics Special Smiles® was delegated as the first Healthy Athletes discipline in Wisconsin to pilot a paperless data entry by electronically collecting health information from each screening. Andrew Bonner from Special Olympics’ global technology partner, Health One Global, made a visit to Wisconsin to assist with SOWI’s pilot.
“This is an exciting opportunity,” said Jessica Chuckel, Healthy Communities Project Director for SOWI. “As a result of the Healthy Communities grant, SOWI is able to use technology to assist in the tracking of athlete health and wellness.” SOWI will be working to toward electronic data entry for all its Healthy Athletes disciplines.
Click here for photos and results from this year's event. We look forward to seeing you cheer loudly at the State Fall Sports Tournament!
