The Lake Forest College Athletics Department is excited to once again host the Area 13 Special Olympics Aquatics Meet on Saturday, March 24 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the College’s Sports and Recreation Center.
The Special Olympics is an event held every year that serves as the qualifying meet to the 2018 State Summer Games. This year a total of 250 special Olympian swimmers are expected to compete and of those, all first place finishers in their respective divisions will advance.
The athletes competing are all residents from Illinois, specifically from Northern Cook County, Lake County, and McHenry County.
Lake Forest College faculty, staff, and students along with alumni, friends, and community members are encouraged to come out and cheer our local Special Olympians to victory! Participants will report to the ready room preceding the event and will then be paraded out to the pool deck to enhance the overall experience of the meet.
The event is free and open to the public.
In 2011, NCAA Division III and the Special Olympics established a partnership in order to improve the lives of Special Olympics athletes through their involvement with Division III student-athletes and to foster a mutual learning experience between both groups.
Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities by giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience joy.
This is an exciting meet for both participants and swim fans! For more information, please contact Katelin Sheppard at 217-497-0406 or ksheppard@soil.org.