College Welcomes Special Olympics Summer Games

June 16, 2017

Hudson Valley Community College will welcome hundreds of athletes, their families and cheering sections this Saturday, June 17, as the college hosts the tennis and track and field competitions for the 2017 New York State Special Olympics Summer Games.

Athletic competition will take place at Siena College, Hudson Valley, The Sage Colleges, World Class Gymnastics and Spare Time Bowling. All events, including the opening and closing ceremonies are free and open to the general public.

The events at Hudson Valley will take place at the college's new Outdoor Athletic Complex, which is adjacent to the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.

"Hudson Valley Community College is proud to partner with Special Olympics New York in hosting the Summer Games. We're looking forward to holding events at our new Outdoor Athletic Complex, which will be home to the track and field and tennis competitions during the games," said Hudson Valley Community College President Drew Matonak. "This is a great opportunity to share our new facilities with the community, and also a wonderful chance to welcome the athletes and attendees of the Special Olympics to our region and our campus. We are honored to be a part of such an important and exciting event."

The Summer Games are the largest of two annual state games and 5,048 competitive experiences held each year throughout New York. Athletes must qualify at a local level to compete in the State Summer Games.

Special Olympics New York provides year-round sports training and competition in 22 Olympic-style sports to children and adults with intellectual disabilities at no cost to the athletes, their families or caregivers. There are 67,162 athletes that train and compete with Special Olympics New York, the largest Special Olympics program in North America.

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Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 80 degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Science; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of nearly 11,500 students and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training. Hudson Valley has more than 75,000 alumni.