SRU hosts sectionals for Pa. Special Olympics
SLIPPERY ROCK — Multiple venues at Slippery Rock University played host to the Western Fall Sectional for the Pennsylvania Special Olympics on Sunday, Sept. 29.
Hundreds of athletes from across Western Pennsylvania came to Slippery Rock to compete in six sports — powerlifting, long-distance running/walking, bocce ball, soccer, volleyball and flag football.
Butler County’s local Special Olympics squad sent athletes to all sports except powerlifting.
“Slippery Rock hosts our Western Fall Sectional event every year,” said Stephanie Taylor, sport and unified champion schools director for the Three Rivers region. “We are very grateful for them, and for the volunteers who come out to help us run this event.”
The Western sectionals were open to athletes from the Pennsylvania Special Olympics’ Three Rivers region — which includes Butler County — as well as the Northwest region, which includes 17 counties in Western Pennsylvania.
Athletes in each county competed for a chance to advance to the state’s most prestigious Special Olympics event, Fall Fest, which will be Nov. 1 to 3 at Villanova University in Philadelphia. Fall Fest will feature Special Olympians from every part of Pennsylvania.
According to team manager Mary Pitzer, Butler County sent 45 athletes. While the Special Olympics events are more about fostering acceptance than competition, Butler County athletes did quite well during the sectionals.
“In bocce, we got a silver and a bronze,” Pitzer said. “In volleyball, we got numerous gold, silver and bronze, and the team got gold.”
Ryan Perkins is the head coach of the bocce team, which saw Kara Ace and Rosalind Burns win medals. Perkins said the traveling Butler County bocce team trains for two hours a week and plays against three other teams of local bocce players who play only recreationally.
“Physically, (bocce players) get their joints moving,” Perkins said. “They get their muscles moving; they get their lungs pumping. They learn sportsmanship and how to get along with other people.”
