Special Olympics stage successful Beach Games

THE Special Olympics TT (SOTT) staged another successful Beach Games at the Maracas Beach Facilities on Saturday.

Beach Games has been pioneered by SOTT since 2016 and this was the fifth edition. Beach Games was originally introduced by Kester Edwards, a former SOTT athlete, who is now a manager of sport and development at Special Olympics in Washington DC, US.

This year’s games saw 100 Special Olympics athletes and unified partners, 15 coaches and 70 volunteers involved with competition in open water swim, beach volleyball, bocce, aquathlon and beach soccer.

Beverly Reid-Samuel, Deputy Permanent Secretary at Ministry of Sport and Community Development brought greetings on behalf of the ministry and declared the games open.

Reid-Samuel also thanked SOTT for its continued efforts in providing year-round activities for people with intellectual disabilities and assured that SOTT’s hard work has not been unnoticed while pledging continued support. Also bringing greetings was Penny Gomez, CEO of the Digicel TT Foundation who said it was a pleasure that Digicel was SOTT's first local partner and later expressed her admiration for the ability levels displayed by the athletes in open water swimming.

Major David Benjamin, the SOTT board chair informed the gathering of SOTT being offered the opportunity to stage the first Special Olympics Caribbean Beach Games in 2024.

Athletes were also exposed to horseback riding and a display by police K9 dogs provided by the TT Police Mounted and Canine Branch. The day closed with the return of the law enforcement torch run with participants from the TT Police Service (TTPS) and the TT Defence Force (TTDF).

SOTT thanked partners, the Ministry of Sport and Community Development, Digicel TT Foundation and Blue Waters Products Ltd, as well as the TTDF, TTPS, TT Prison Service, TT Fire Service, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Northwest Regional Health Authority and its nursing administrator, the lifeguards' division and UDECOTT for their support.

SOTT also thanked the volunteers who continue to serve.