The College at Brockport played host to the Special Olympics' 2015 New York Summer Games on the June 5-7 weekend as more than 2,000 athletes competed on Brockport's campus in several events including aquatics, basketball, bowling, powerlifting, tennis, gymnastics, volleyball, track and field.
Thunderstorms rolled through the greater Rochester area Friday evening threatening the chances of the competitors remaining dry but the grey cloud cover shattered as sun rays broke through the shadowy blanket in time for Saturday's games. The Brockport Athletic Facilities played a big factor in the success of the games as Friday's opening ceremony was moved indoors to the spacious Special Events Recreation Center (SERC) field house.
"I think Brockport was a standout location for the event because of the athletic department at the college," said 2009 Brockport graduate Michaela Kaiser, who volunteered during Saturday's events. "I was very impressed with the improvements to the buildings since I was last a student here. It made me proud to be a Brockport alumnus."
Golden Eagle student-athletes and coaches were also a part of the volunteering crew with members from several teams contributing their services in addition to Brockport faculty and staff.
"Current and former basketball players were refereeing the games with several other teams assisting in different areas including lifeguarding the swim events," said Brockport Athletic Facilities Coordinator Nate Bull. "Brockport is such an ideal location for the Special Olympic games because our athletic facilities are able to house all of the events minus bowling."
Brockport has a strong history with the Special Olympics organization which dates back to 1979 as the school hosted the International Summer Special Olympics Games. The college's stadium is named after Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who helped found the Special Olympic Games and bring them to Brockport. Also in attendance in '79 were international boxing sensation Muhammad Ali, soccer legend Pele and baseball great Hank Aaron to name a few.
These stars helped bring thousands of supporters out for the '79 games in which Brockport built a massive stadium to accommodate the surplus of spectators. At the time Brockport had the largest on-campus stadium in the nation amongst Division III universities and ranks highly in seating capacity currently to this day.
The campus also received a few gifts from an unexpected source when the Soviet Union sent artist Zureb Tsereteli. Tsereteli created two of Brockport's iconic campus statues, Joy and Happiness to All The Children of The World – the sculpture formation that surrounds the water fountain in the center of campus that model the Special Olympics logo and the statue of Prometheus in front of the Allen Administrative building.
"The International Games utilized the stadium as well as Tuttle North and South," said Dr. Joseph Winnick who created the Adaptive Physical Education program at Brockport which helped gain recognition from the Special Olympics. "Brockport was host of the first Special Olympics' New York State Games in 1975 and the Brockport Athletics department has played a crucial role in leadership and volunteers at the Special Olympic Games since its start at Brockport in '75 to present times."
Although celebrities may not have come out in abundance this year to Brockport, smiles were abundant as the competitors and volunteers thoroughly enjoyed the three day event.
"I have volunteered through multiple organizations in the past but this was my first time with Special Olympics and I was thrilled with the event. The experience was extremely rewarding," concluded Kaiser.
