Iowa Wesleyan Hosts 2017 Special Olympic Spring Games

The Iowa Wesleyan University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the Southeast Iowa Special Olympic Spring Games on April 8.  This was the third consecutive year the event was hosted by SAAC. The Spring Games serve as a qualifying event for the Summer Games, a State competition held in Ames, Iowa.

This year's event had nearly 175 athletes from eleven counties participate in track and field events.  Of the 175 participants, around 130 athletes will be moving on to the Summer Games in May.

The Special Olympic Spring Games would not be possible without the help of volunteers.  Volunteers came from members of the various sports teams, faculty and staff, and students at Iowa Wesleyan University. Other volunteers included high school and middle school students involved in the Silver Cord program, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and many community members.

Another major key to putting on a successful event are the sponsors.  Sponsorship money goes towards purchasing new equipment for the games, volunteer t-shirts, programs, and signage.  Platinum level sponsors included: Iowa Wesleyan University SAAC, Hy-Vee, and KILJ; Portable Playlist DJ and Walmart Logistics were Gold level sponsors.  There were two Silver level sponsors: Batey Lumber and Staats.  Bronze level sponsors included: Wayland State Bank, US Bank, DeLeon Art Studio, Brown's Shoe Fit Co., Access Energy Coop., Menke Co., Henry County Health Center, and Mahaska Community Group. The final level of sponsorship was the Participation level. These sponsors included: Old Thresher's, Walmart Supercenter, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Iowa Wesleyan is a provisional member of the NCAA Division III, and the NCAA Division III has a national partnership with Special Olympics.

STORY COURTESY OF IOWA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION