A Very Special Day For Special Olympic Athletes in Missoula

With the promise of at least some sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, we hope Mother Nature smiles down on some special athletes.

And we also hope you might be able to find some time to get involved.

It's the return of the Special Olympics Montana Five Valleys Area 2022 Spring Games. The event is set for this coming Wednesday, May 4, at Big Sky High School here in Missoula. Athletes will compete in traditional and unified track and field events and traditional and unified bocce doubles. It promises to be an exciting day of spring sports competition and celebration!

Special Olympics Montana is an athlete-centered, family-based, volunteer-driven, and sponsor-supported movement with 2,000 athletes registered in 121 programs from 65 Montana communities. Nearly 4,000 Montana volunteers help organize and host local and state level competitions.

Special Olympics Montana offers year-round training and competition in 18 Olympic-type sports for individuals with intellectual disabilities. State-level competition is available to anyone ages 8 and older. Athletes are grouped together by age, gender and ability level to ensure all participants experience a truly competitive experience. Every athlete is recognized for his or her performance and encouraged to achieve their personal best.

Activities will be getting underway at 8:45 Wednesday morning, with various competitions going through the late afternoon hours. Special Olympics Montana has asked us to help get the call out for volunteers! If you are interested in finding out what their needs are you can email Outreach Coordinator Lindsey Campbell, at lcampbell@somt.org.

You can also find out more about volunteering and the Special Olympics Montana Spring Games here.