ITHACA IS… SPECIAL After years of work, Ithaca and athletes are ready for Olympics
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By L au r a I l ioa e i
fter years of preparation and effort by athletes and organizers, the Special Olympics of New York (SONY) State Summer games for 2022 will be held in locations throughout Ithaca on Friday June 24 and Saturday June 25. Ithaca College will be the main site of all events, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies and holding the aquatics, basketball, gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball events. Ithaca High School will hold track and field and powerlifting events. Midway Lanes will hold bowling. Nearly 1,200 athletes and coaches from across New York State will be participating in this year’s Summer Games. “For Ithaca, this is huge because we’ve been trying for seven years to have all our key players in line, having all of our sporting venues in line, having all of our donors in line, all of our volunteers in line. And so for 2022, ‘23, and ‘24, the stars just aligned and we had the right people and the right places and the right community members, and the right businesses in the right places to make it happen for the athletes,” Head NY Swim Coach Karli Buday said. Efforts to host New York Special Olympics (NYSO) events in Ithaca have been made for several years, since the early 2010s. These efforts have been advocated by Ithaca’s local Special Olympic Committee that meets monthly. The committee is primarily composed of coaches and volunteers. Compared to other regions in New York State, like the Hudson Valley or Long Island, the Finger Lakes region doesn’t have as many athletes, and the small size of the 8 T
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It h ac a’s N i k o l a i H u i e c l u t c h e s a t r i d e n t s y m b o l i z i n g h i s a f f i n i t y t o t h e wat e r w h e r e h e h a s s t e a d i ly i m p r ov e d t o b e c o m e a n o ly m p i c c h a m p i o n . ( P h o t o b y J a n e t H u i e) committee made it more difficult to advocate for Ithaca as a hosting site. But eventually, the committee succeeded. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at Ithaca College’s Campus Center Quad from 7P.M. to 8:30P.M. (rain location at the A&E Center). On Saturday, the 22–28,
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J i m m i e – At a pa s t To r c h R u n , h e i s c o m p e t i n g i n Tr ac k a n d F i e l d .
events will be taking place in their designated locations from 8A.M.-5P.M.: • Aquatics – A&E Center, Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium • Basketball – A&E Center, Glazer Arena • Gymnastics – Hill Center, Gyms 3 & 4 • Tennis – Wheeler Tennis Courts
• Volleyball – Hill Center • Powerlifting – Fitness Center • Athletics – Ithaca High School (Track & Field) • Bowling – Midway Lanes Locations and times are not finalized and subject to change.
