Massachusetts Maritime, Smith College and Augsburg (Minn.) were selected for this month’s Special Olympics Spotlight, which highlights on-campus or conference-based activities through NCAA Division III’s partnership with Special Olympics.  The story that receives the highest number of votes in on-line voting that begins today and concludes on Friday, March 25^th will receive a $500 stipend for use in its next Special Olympics event.  

 

The Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) initiated the partnership at the 2011 NCAA Convention and officially launched the partnership on August 1, 2011.  The purpose of the partnership is to enhance the lives of Division III student-athletes and Special Olympics athletes through a mutual learning experience; provide a platform for recognition of Special Olympics athletes and Division III student-athletes within their communities; and raise awareness of Special Olympics, its programs and services.

Through this partnership, Division III student-athletes across the country are encouraged to participate in existing Special Olympics events, create their own events, or otherwise serve to support Special Olympics organization. The activities pursued by student-athletes will vary in each state and region, tailored to best utilize the student-athletes' time and local resources.  Service activities with Special Olympic athletes range from unified events to sports clinics to bowling as well as pizza parties or fundraising efforts.

On January 19^th, the Buccaneer SAAC hosted the first of two Community Games basketball nights for Special Olympics of Cape Cod, as teams from Wareham, Plymouth, Freetown and New Bedford competed in four contests played inside the Clean Harbors Athletic Center.  The Wareham Wild Vikings, Plymouth Rock Masters, Whitney Academy and New Bedford Hawks took part in the event, and Buccaneer senior baseball co-captain Alex Rozak (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) and freshman women’s lacrosse student-athlete Erica Overstreet (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) served as referees for all of the games.

A second Special Olympics Community Games night was held on February 16^th at the Clean Harbors Athletic Center, with Rozak and fellow baseball senior co-captain Kevin Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) serving as referees for games involving teams from Freetown and New Bedford.

“The opportunity to give back to the community plays such an important role in the growth and development of our student-athletes, and our department is so honored to once again be involved with Special Olympics,” Massachusetts Maritime Director of Athletics Garin Veris.  “We are grateful for the chance to be a part of this.”

The Buccaneer SAAC will also volunteer at the Special Olympics Track & Field Day on Saturday, May 14^th that will take place at Barnstable High School in Hyannis.

To vote in the March Special Olympics Spotlight Poll, please visit http://www.ncaa.org/about/special-olympics-partnership.
 

Courtesy of Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information