Articles in Athletes

The Global Messenger Workshop will be December 1-2, 2017 at the state office in Grimes.

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When Hurricane Harvey hit last month Alicia Porter knew she couldn’t sit on the sidelines and watch. The Special Olympics Iowa coach had an important connection to Houston; her assistant coach, Barb Hottman is originally from the city.

Hottman, a former special education teacher from Houston has a daughter living in Houston and she immediately wanted to go and see firsthand how her and all of her friends were really doing.

“Through phone calls we began to realize that these people were living on cans of soup and even K-rations. We knew that she [Hottman] could not go empty-handed,” Porter said. Team Porter began reaching out to close friends and relatives, asking for donations of food and paper supplies.  With an outpouring of support, a thousand dollars worth of food and supplies were donated and sent with Hottman to bring to Houston. …

Starting October 1, 2017 Special Olympics will require all athletes joining Special Olympics Iowa to complete newly updated Release and Medical Forms.

These new forms will take the place of the Physical and Consent Forms that SOIA required athletes to fill out in the past. Any athlete with a current Physical and Consent Form on file will NOT need to renew with the new forms until their current physical expires.

Before athletes can begin competition in SOIA, they must submit the following forms:

• Athlete Information Form (renewed every 3 years)
• Participant Release Form
• Medical Forms
  • Health History
  • Physical Exam (renewed every 3 years)
  • Referral Form (if required)

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From Special Olympics North America: 

Special Olympics values the safety of all athletes and their use of appropriate protective equipment. This memo is to advise Special Olympics Programs on new FIS standards for alpine ski helmets.

In order to improve safety, the USSA Alpine Sports Committee has confirmed that the regulations requiring the use of helmets for Giant Slalom, Super-G and Downhill that meet new FIS standards will be mandatory for all competitors in the 2016-2017 season. Special Olympics Sports recently adopted these requirements.

The new FIS helmet certification standards will be phased In during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons. (USSA “Ski Helmet Regulations” are available on the USSA web site at http://ussa.org/alpine-programs/masters/rules).

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Special Olympics Iowa is pleased to announce the 2018 Team Iowa members going to USA Games next year in Seattle! One year from now – July 1-6, 2018 – more than 4,000 Special Olympics athletes and coaches from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will gather in Seattle to compete before tens of thousands of spectators and volunteers. The 2018 USA Games will showcase the limitless talents of people with intellectual disabilities while promoting the barrier-breaking power of sport to promote inclusion and acceptance. …

Come join Special Olympics Iowa at the 2017 Iowa State Fair!

On Friday, August 18, SOIA will be co-hosting the second annual Adaptive Sports on the Grand Concourse day with our friends from Adaptive Sports Iowa and Courage League Sports. The day will consist of games of power soccer, wheelchair basketball and bocce as well as equipment demonstrations and program overviews. It will be a day to show how sports can be adaptive for inclusion so everyone can participate. …

On Saturday, June 24th the Des Moines Register honored the 12 Special Olympics Iowa athletes they chose to be on the All-Iowa Elite Athletes Team for the year. The All-Iowa Elite team is made up of three male and three female athletes, as well as three pairs of Unified Sports partners.

Congratulations to the following winners from SOIA:

Isaac Baldus, Male Athlete of the Year
Madison Ebrecht, Female Athlete of the Year
Kaitlin Bockenstedt and Chloe Meyers, Unified Team of the Year …

During the 2017 Summer Games the Des Moines Register announced its Special Olympics All-Iowa Elite Athletes Team for the year.

The All-Iowa Elite team is made up of three male and three female athletes, as well as three pairs of Unified Sports partners for a total of 12 members. Special Olympics athletes were chosen for the team based on nominations written by coaches, delegation managers, teachers and area directors. The athletes chosen to be a part of the team represent the spirit of the Special Olympics Iowa movement and have gone above and beyond to show their dedication to sport and sportsmanship. They represent SOIA in competitions, service to their fellow athletes, and leadership within the organization and their community.

SOIA athletes were recognized at the Summer Games Opening Ceremonies and will again be recognized at the Register’s Sports Awards ceremony on June 24 at Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines. Athletes will receive a free ticket to the event, which is headlined by celebrity speaker Shaquille O’Neal.

General admission tickets are available for the event.

Meet the 2017 Special Olympics Elite Athletes! 

Special Olympics Iowa honored its Outstanding Athlete, Coach and Family of the Year award winners during the Summer Games Opening Ceremonies presented by Hy-Vee May 25 at Iowa State University’s Hilton Coliseum. The Scott Bryant Unsung Hero Award was also presented to recognize an individual dedicated to the Law Enforcement Torch Run program.  …

By: Chelsey Kimmel-Kendrick

Special Olympics Iowa’s 33^rd annual Summer Games is a three-day event with more than 2,500 athletes and over 1,500 volunteers. The event consists of several sports including swimming, track and field, bocce, tennis, cycling, soccer and skills games. However, athletes can only participate in one sport per day.

Summer Games will take place on May 25-27. Registration is due by April 1 for the bocce, cycling, soccer and tennis competitions, and April 24 for swimming and athletics (track and field).

The Summer Games will be kicked off with the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg, which brings the symbolic Flame of Hope Torch from downtown Des Moines to Iowa State University’s Hilton Coliseum for the Opening Ceremonies, presented by Hy-Vee. More than 500 law enforcement officers from all around Iowa have participated in the past by running, walking and biking routes, as they head to the big event in Ames. The officers hand the torch to an athlete who lights the flame, which begins the biggest SOIA competition of the year! …