Special Olympics North Country Fall Classic Hosted by SUNY Canton's Sports Management Program

More than ninety athletes took part in the second Special Olympics North Country Fall Classic at SUNY Canton this past September.

The event was organized, planned, and executed by Erin Anderson, Kamryn Barnes, and Ethan Firnstein, who are seniors in the Sports Management program. Under the guidance of Program Director, Dr. Diane Para, the three seniors took on the task of organizing the games as part of a senior capstone project. The games consisted of an individual softball skills competition, a softball tournament, and a team bocce ball competition.

In conjunction with the games, the Special Olympics Healthy Athlete Fitness Screening program was conducted by the Physical Therapist Assistant Program led by Dr. Deborah Molnar and Dr. Jennifer McDonald, and the Health and Fitness Promotions Program led by Dr. Janet Parcell. Students from each program and area clinicians also volunteered in the program.

“My favorite part of the day was seeing how happy everyone was,” said Anderson. “It was such a special day for not only the athletes but us as well.”

“I felt that the event could not have gone any better,” Firnstein said. “The preparation was well thought out and all three of us were on the same page.”

Anderson echoed Firnstein’s thoughts on the success of the event. “The event went as smoothly as we could’ve hoped,” she said. “We all worked so hard to get that day together and our volunteers played a huge role in the success of the day.”

Students in the Sports Management program and other college athletes volunteered and put in a lot of hours that day which led to the success of the games.

“I give a lot of credit to the amazing volunteers that helped us out throughout the day,” said Firnstein. “This event brought out the best in everyone. We had everything prepared in less than an hour because of how well our volunteers did. The day was very rewarding, and I would do it again if I had the chance.”

“My favorite part of the event was the interactions with the athletes and the overwhelming emotion they showed on this day,” added Barnes. “It made all the hard days of planning worth it.”

This is the second Special Olympics fall event the Sports Management program and Special Olympics of New York have teamed up for. “It is always a special and rewarding day to work with Special Olympics in providing the athletes with a great event and experience,” said Para. “Our senior student leaders did an outstanding job planning for the event and their organization, event management skills, and leadership skills were absolutely tremendous throughout the day.”

Para also commented about the work of the volunteers and the partnership with the other academic programs. “It is a tremendous collective effort of faculty from the Sports Management,

Physical Therapist Assistant, and Health and Fitness Promotion programs along with local health care clinician volunteers, officials from Special Olympics of New York, all our student leaders and volunteers, and our sponsors that provided close to 100 Special Olympians with a fantastic day of competition, health screening, and enthusiastic fun!”

“Planning and organizing the Special Olympics was one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done,” said Barnes, reflecting on the day. “The skills we developed during our time planning and running the event are important steps that we can utilize in our future careers.”

Victory Promotions in Watertown and Canton provided commemorative t-shirts to all the athletes, and the SUNY Canton College Association and Subway generously provided lunch donations for the athletes, coaches, and volunteers.