Check out photos from the event here. 

Sounds of laughter filled the air with a little friendly competition on Sunday, April 23 as the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee hosted a Special Olympics field day on the campus of Salem State University. 

"Today was an awesome day," Jake MacVarish, MASCAC SAAC Vice-President and Massachusetts Maritime student-athlete said.  "We all had a blast working with our buddies and Salem State ran a fantastic event.  Everyone that I spoke to had a wonderful time and could not wait to have another event like that."

The day started with each Special Olympian receiving a t-shirt donated by Champion's Choice before heading to the locker room with their MASCAC buddy to store their belongings before their three events. A little warm up to some music kicked off the day's activities which was followed by three stations: floor hockey, basketball and soccer. 

The Special Olympians stayed at the stations for about 10 minutes with their buddy before a break then off to the next event. A box lunch which was donated by Salem State's dining services Chartwells was enjoyed by everyone after over an hour of fun games. 

The day was capped off with each of the Special Olympians receiving a medal from their MASCAC buddy and then a cinch backpack. 

"It was an honor to host this event," Nicolle Wood, Salem State SAAC Advisor said. "There were so many highlights, from the moment the first Special Olympian walked in and lit up the room with his smile, to seeing our student-athletes from each campus working together, and the enthusiasm and love for sport that each participant brought...without a doubt, our student-athletes took as much away from this event as the Special Olympians they hosted. These are the days that they will remember right up there with the big wins and personal bests."

Every other year, each of the eight MASCAC institution's SAAC presents a project to their peers at the annual meeting in December which is then voted on by the group. Salem State was selected to host this year's event. They had previously hosted the project in 2011.

"I am extremely proud of the MASCAC Student-athletes that were able to participate in the community service project at Salem State University", MASCAC Commissioner Angela Baumann said.  "It is a testament to the qualities of the student-athletes and the positive change makers they are.  We had student-athletes competing on Sunday on the fields of the MASCAC, giving back to the community with the SAAC Community Service project and participating with me in the NCAA Diversity and Inclusion Forum in Providence, Rhode Island.  I couldn’t be more proud of the impact our student-athletes are making."