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Welcome Letter from CEO
Dear Special Olympics Massachusetts Family,
Happy Spring and welcome to the first edition of the Special Olympics Massachusetts Families eNewsletter. Our hope is this eNewsletter will provide you with information regarding the happenings of Special Olympics Massachusetts as well as a link to a myriad of resources that we hope will be beneficial to you. Special Olympics Massachusetts relies heavily on our coaches and our volunteers to pass on critical information to our families. We want this eNewsletter to be a vehicle that helps transmit seasonal and other critical information.
Special Olympics Massachusetts accomplished a lot in 2015. The athlete base continues to grow and we now serve 11,895 athletes throughout the Commonwealth in 24 sports and 245 competition opportunities. Our youngest athlete is 2 ½ and our oldest athlete is 104! Yes, you read that right, 104 and I had the awesome opportunity to watch him compete in candlepin bowling in March. As we move into 2016 and beyond, our goal at Special Olympics Massachusetts is to ensure we offer a continuum of service from Young Athletes programming, to inclusive and traditional opportunities at every school level, to transitional opportunities for athletes graduating from school and finally to ensuring we are able to provide sports for our most senior athletes. To achieve this goal, we must recruit and retain more human and monetary resources. We want to ensure Special Olympics Massachusetts is a partner to your family and your athlete for as long as they need or want us to be.
We welcome your feedback and please forward this eNewsletter to anyone who you think would be interested in receiving but may not be. To those families who volunteer or donate regularly, THANK YOU. We look forward to continuing to work with you to build the great mission of Special Olympics Massachusetts.
In the Spirit of Special Olympics,
Mary Beth McMahon
President & CEO
Marybeth.McMahon@SpecialOlympicsMA.org
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Upcoming Events
Calling All New England Revolution Fans!
 Here is your chance to be part of the action and attend a New England Revolution game. We are looking for athletes, unified partners,and coaches to do the Ocean Spray "Kick in the bog" at every Revolution home game this season. If know someone that is interested, please contact your Local Program Coordinator or Coach to get involved. For a list of home games this season, click here.
Red Sox Night
 Join us as we celebrate Special Olympics Night at Fenway Park on Tuesday, June 21st. Bring your family, friends, and athletes for an evening of fun watching the Boston Red Sox take on the Chicago White Sox.
To reserve your tickets, click here.
Taking fundraising to new heights!
Over the Edge is a unique fundraising event, providing participants the thrilling, once in a life time chance of rappelling down a building in an exciting and completely safe environment. Over the Edge, will be hosted by the Hyatt Regency, Boston on July 16, 2016. More Information...
ReelAbilities Film Fest coming to
Central & Western Mass!
MarlboroughSpecial Olympics Massachusetts is excited to partner with Reel Abilities to host a screening at Marlborough High School. April 13: The Crash Reel
Falmouth Road Race Applications - Apply Today!
 Do you or someone you know want to run the 2016 Falmouth Road Race & fundraise for Special Olympics Massachusetts in the process?
You're in luck! We have 15 bib spots in this year's race and are accepting applications today. Click Here to apply
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Forms and Family Resources
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Don't forget to visit the calendar section of the website for all event specific information.
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Sports
We offer an array of year-round individual and teams sports across the state during the winter, spring, summer and fall sports seasons. Here are some upcoming state tournaments.
Summer Games
Mark your calendar for Summer Games weekend,
June 3rd - 5th, at Harvard University Athletic Complex.
Also be sure to check out our calendar for upcoming qualifying tournaments.
Tournament of Champions
Beginning in 2016, the Special Olympics Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (formerly August Tournament) will be moving from Western Massachusetts to the greater Marlborough area. We look forward to adding partners in the surrounding towns including restaurants, community groups and the schools. For more Information and to check out the new venues visit our website.
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Letter from a SOMA Parent
 Sharon Allen is the mother of Special Olympics athlete Aaron Allen. She would like to share what Special Olympics means to her son and how it has change his life.
"Our Experience with Special Olympics: Our son Aaron was a shy, tall, timid and very active boy. In first grade his teacher recommended we sign him up for Special Olympics. What an AMAZING door of experiences and opportunities that opened for Aaron and our family. That was sixteen years and many moves ago.
We want to share some of the highlights we have experienced with you" - read more of Sharon's letter.
Each quarterly newsletter will feature a letter from a SOMA parent. If you have a story that you would like to share, please click here to share it.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Who can participate in Special Olympics?
Special Olympics is open to every person with intellectual disabilities. Participants may begin as early as the age of two in our Young Athletes program. Participants can begin training in one of our local programs at the age of six and compete in local and state competitions at the age of eight. There is no maximum age limitation for participation in Special Olympics.
Participation is open to all persons with intellectual disabilities, regardless of the level or degree of that person's disability, and whether or not that person also has other mental or physical disabilites, so long as that person registers to participate in Special Olympics by completing an Application for Participation.
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Everyone has a story to tell!
In every corner of the earth, Special Olympics is changing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. There are stories from all around the world shared on the Special Olympics Inc. website. If you have a story you'd like to share, please click the Tell Your Story button. It might be shared with the whole world!
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Special Olympics Massachusetts
Yawkey Sports Training Center
512 Forest Street, Marlborough, MA 01752
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