SOMO News

JEFFERSON CITY — The 2022 Special Olympics Missouri (SOMO) State Outdoor Games will bring around 1,100 athletes, coaches, volunteers and Unified partners from across the state to Jefferson City, Oct. 7-9. The Games will be held at Blair Oaks High School, Jefferson City High School, Capital City High School, Oak Hills Golf Center, Binder Sports Complex and SOMO’s Training for Life Campus. The theme this year is disco! 

“We are thrilled to have our State Outdoor Games in Jefferson City,” Senior Programs Director Melinda Wrye-Washington said. “Our athletes can’t wait to showcase their skills in Missouri’s Capital City!” 

The State Outdoor Games will officially kick off with the Opening Ceremony at Binder Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. KRCG’s Meghan Lane will emcee the program. The Lincoln University Marching Band is slated to perform during the ceremony, and Miss Missouri Clare Kuebler will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. At the end of the ceremony, SOMO’s 2022 USA Games’ Team Missouri delegation will officially open up the State Outdoor Games. There will be a fireworks display immediately following the Opening Ceremony!  

We encourage the entire community to come out to cheer on our athletes, enjoy great entertainment and watch the lighting of Law Enforcement Torch Run’s Flame of Hope at the Opening Ceremony! 

This year’s State Outdoor Games will feature five sports: Softball, Tennis, Golf, Bocce and Flag Football. Bocce, Golf, Tennis and Softball will all begin on Friday. Softball will wrap up on Saturday. The competition will conclude with Flag Football on Sunday. You can find the full schedule of events with locations here.

Along with the competitions, SOMO will also hold its health and wellness clinics – Healthy Athletes and Sports Zone. 

“SOMO is about so much more than just competing in sports,” Health Partnership Manager Carol Griffin said. “These events give us a great opportunity to offer free health screenings to our athletes.” 

Special Olympics Missouri 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. SOMO will hold Healthy Athletes and Sports Zone at different times throughout the weekend. 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. 

We strongly encourage the entire community to come out to support the athletes of Special Olympics Missouri! For volunteer opportunities – please visit somo.volunteerhub.com. 

For the most up-to-date information on the State Outdoor Games, make sure you download the 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 Outdoor Games 2022” and connect to our event. Use the invitation code: StateOutdoorGames2022. 

Thank you so much to our sponsors! 

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

Media Partner: KRCG-TV 

Bronze Level Partners: Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, Columbia Regional Airport, Hitachi Energy, Clean Fuels Alliance America, Scholastic 

Healthy Athletes Partner: United Healthcare 

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 and Facebook. 

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