Green Mountain Adaptive Sports was honored to help coordinate and secure training facilities for fifteen Special Olympics of Vermont athletes, coaches, and support team who attended a training camp in Stowe last weekend.

This year, Special Olympics of Vermont is sending a team of six athletes to a unified youth leadership experience in Orlando in June. In preparation for the games they chose Stowe to host their training weekend.

The camp focused on three disciplines: Golf, swimming, and track and field.

The Stowe Country Club generously hosted training for two of the athletes, one coach and one caddy. The SOVT golf team was granted access to the driving range and played two rounds of nine holes over the weekend. GMAS board member Wendy Nunez, also a member of the club, reached out to Michael Harger, PGA Director of Golf & Member Services asking for help to accommodate the team from VTSO. 

“I’ve been involved with Special Olympics golf quite a bit in the past and we are thrilled to support them. They are more than welcome to practice here on the range too. We’re looking forward to getting involved,” commented Harger.

As far as the swimmers are concerned, Green Mountain Adaptive Sports provided support to two athletes who shared a lane on Sunday at The Swimming Hole in Stowe. The Swimming Hole is one of Green Mountain Adaptive Sports’ partners, providing a year-round Adaptive Swim Program at the facility. Last year alone, through the generous donations of our supporters, GMAS awarded 125 lessons to 16 individual adaptive athletes for swim lessons at the facility.

The track and field team had a great time at their practices with the Stowe High School. 

“This was fantastic! Thanks so much for the generous time and energy that so many contributed to the planning and hosting of such a wonderful team-building training weekend for the Special Olympics Vermont USA Games delegation,” commented Missy Siner Shea, President & CEO, Special Olympics Vermont. GMAS also wishes to extend our many thanks to all involved in making this weekend such a great success for the SOVT USA Games athletes and their team.

GMAS’s Mission is to improve the quality of life for people living with a disability residing in or visiting Vermont through access to sports and recreational activities. GMAS also works cooperatively with our partners to enhance their ability to deliver a quality experience to persons with disabilities. GMAS is hopeful that this new partnership with SOVT is only the beginning of what will be a long and successful collaboration as we work together to foster the inclusion of individuals with intellectual disabilities in our sponsored programs.

For more information about Green Mountain Adaptive Sports, to see how to get involved, or to donate, visit https://greenmtnadaptive.org/

You can click here to read about the SOVT USA Games athletes.

You can also see the results from our Vermont athletes here.