SOMO News

COLUMBIA – The 2023 Special Olympics Missouri (SOMO) State Summer Games will bring more than 1,000 athletes, coaches, volunteers and Unified partners from across the state to Columbia, June 2-4. The Games will be held at the University of Missouri and Hickman High School. The theme this year is Aloha SOMO!

“We are very excited to have our State Summer Games in Columbia,” said Luke Lamb, SOMO’s Director of Sports Competition and Statewide Training. “Our athletes have worked extremely hard to get to this event.”

This year’s State Summer Games will feature four sports: volleyball, swimming, powerlifting and track and field. Our volleyball and swimming competition will be held on Friday. Our powerlifting competition is on Saturday. Our track and field competition will be on Saturday and Sunday. You can find the full schedule of events with locations here! Athletes had to qualify for the State Summer Games through their regional and area competitions.

This is the second straight year SOMO has held its State Summer Games in Columbia. Be sure to watch our full recap video from last year!

We still have plenty of volunteer opportunities available, and we strongly encourage the entire community to come out to support the athletes of SOMO! We are especially looking for volunteers to help with track and field and swimming.

You can find and sign up for all of our State Summer Games’ volunteer opportunities here!

“We would not be able to put on events like the State Summer Games without the support from local volunteers,” Lamb said. “We appreciate each and every one of them!”

The State Summer Games will officially kick off with the Opening Ceremony at the MizzouRec on Friday, June 2 at 7 p.m. Clear 99’s Liz and Scotty will emcee the program. The Golden Girls are slated to perform during the ceremony as is SOMO athlete and talented musician Liam Arbuckle. The Opening Ceremony will culminate with the lighting of the Law Enforcement Torch Run Flame of Hope!

Along with the competitions, SOMO will also hold its health and wellness clinics. Healthy Athletes and Sports Zone will be on Saturday, June 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hickman High School.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to once again offer free Healthy Athletes screenings to our athletes.” said SOMO Health and Development Manager Krista Evans.

SOMO is dedicated to improving the overall health and fitness of its athletes, not only through organized sports training and competition, but by also providing free health screenings through the Healthy Athletes program. All of these screenings are provided for SOMO athletes free of charge. These are incredible opportunities for the SOMO athletes. Some of the perks include the potential to get free glasses or goggles. SOMO athletes can also get a free physical, which is good for three years. For more information on these free health screenings, visit somo.org/health.

For the most up-to-date information on the State Summer Games, make sure you download our mobile app! To download, you can either scan the QR code below OR search the Apple or Google Play app stores and search for “Whova.” You’ll need an email to sign up. Once you have downloaded the Whova app, search for “State Summer Games 2023” and connect to our event. Use the invitation code: StateSummerGames2023

Thank you so much to our sponsors!

Statewide Partners: Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR), Missouri Association of Student Councils (MASC), Diamond Pet Foods, Veterans United Home Loans, Knights of Columbus, University of Missouri System, University of Missouri and MU Health Care.

Media is asked to RSVP to Andrew Kauffman at kauffman@somo.org!

Special Olympics Missouri

Special Olympics Missouri is a year-round program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Thousands of athletes participate in 16 Olympic-type sports throughout the state. Special Olympics provides people with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy as they participate in the sharing of gifts and friendship with their fellow athletes, their family and friends and communities across Missouri.

Special Olympics Missouri is proud of our financial health, returning 78% of every dollar back to program services. We are privileged to be recognized with these honors: Better Business Bureau A+ Charity Accreditation, Charity Navigator 4-star rating and Guidestar Gold Level. Special Olympics was also recently named Morning Consult’s No. 4 most trusted nonprofit.

Thank you for trusting us with your donations, volunteer time and your goodwill.

Visit Special Olympics Missouri at www.somo.org. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tik-Tok, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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