FEBRUARY 2025 NEWSLETTER

Winter Games Recap⛷️

More than 250 athletes and Unified partners competed at Winter Games in Dubuque on January 13-14. Competitions were offered in alpine skiing, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing.

Thank you for all the volunteers who helped make the events a success and congratulations to all athletes and Unified partners that competed!

PHOTOS

RESULTS

Spring Classic

See you in the Coralville and Iowa City area for Spring Classic on March 15th! This year's Spring Classic will see hundreds of athletes competing in basketball, cheer and dance, and powerlifting.

The deadline to register for Spring Classic is Friday, February 14th.

REGISTRATION & MORE INFO

VOLUNTEER

Inclusion Week

This year's Inclusion Week celebration, March 3-7, will highlight the joys of all abilities and give individuals an opportunity to share the importance of spreading inclusion. More than 120 Unified Champion Schools will celebrate Inclusion Week in their schools. We invite you to join in on the celebration by sharing about inclusion on social media or having your community participate in creative way.

MAKE A PLEDGE FOR INCLUSION

Join us for an Inclusion Week Unified Sports Day at the MidAmerican Energy RecPlex in West Des Moines on Tuesday, March 4th from 10:30am-1:00pm!

Unified Sports Day provides the opportunity for athletes and Unified partners of all ages to participate in a variety of different sport skills and drill stations including football, soccer, pickleball, volleyball, cornhole, cheer and dance, and more!

Registration due by Tuesday, February 25th.

State Swim Meet

Due to construction at Beyer Hall, swimming will not be offered at Summer Games this year.

Instead, SOIA will be hosting a State Swim Meet at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA on Saturday, March 29th.

Athletes interested in being considered for swimming at the 2026 USA Games must participate in the meet to be eligible.

Registration forms can be found under "Area Swimming" on the participation forms page of our website. Registrations are due by Friday, February 28th.

Young Athletes

Special Olympics Young Athletes is a sport and play program for children with and without intellectual disabilities (ID), ages 2 to 7 years old.

Young Athletes introduce basic sport skills, like running, kicking and throwing. Young Athletes offers families, teachers, caregivers and people from the community the chance to share the joy of sports with all children, and is a great way to get involved in Special Olympics sports programs prior to competition that begins at age 8.

LEARN MORE & SEE A LIST OF UPCOMING YOUNG ATHLETES EVENTS

Iowa Wolves Disability Empowerment Night

Join us on Friday, February 7th for a celebration of basketball for all! The Iowa Wolves will take on the Stockton Kings and celebrate Disability Empowerment Night! Special Olympics Iowa athletes will be participating in in-game promotions and events throughout the evening.

Tickets are $15-$25 and a portion of each ticket sold goes back to Special Olympics Iowa. Doors open at 5:30pm, and the Iowa Wolves game begins at 6:30pm.

What: Iowa Wolves Disability Empowerment Night vs. Stockton Kings

When: Friday, February 7th, 6:30pm

Where: Iowa Events Center (730 3rd St, Des Moines, IA)

GET TICKETS

Unified Champion Schools

Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® bring together students with and without intellectual disabilities through education, sports and youth leadership to provide them with the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to create and sustain school communities that promote acceptance and respect. Special Olympics Iowa partners with pre-schools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges to implement or continue three main components of the Unified Champion Schools model.

Interested in becoming a Unified Champion School?

LEARN MORE

IHSAA Partnership

Special Olympics Iowa and the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) began a partnership during the 2023-2024 school year, and are excited to be continuing this school year! The partnership is an exciting step to grow and recognize Unified sports as other sports are recognized in schools and across the state. IHSAA is working to continue promoting Unified sports programs during the 2024-2025 school year. As Unified sports grow here in Iowa, we look forward to expanding offerings to schools this school year and beyond.

Potential opportunities through Special Olympics Iowa and the IHSAA include Unified bowling, Unified basketball and others as more IHSAA member schools establish Unified Champion Schools programs. These opportunities will be shared as they become available while IHSAA also works to promote Unified programs through Special Olympics Iowa.

Interested in being part of these opportunities?

LEARN MORE

FUNDRAISING CENTRAL

Pickleball is Pickle-back!

Join Special Olympics Iowa and the West Des Moines Police Department at Life Time in Urbandale on Saturday, March 22nd for the 3rd annual pickleball tournament FUNdraiser.

Participants will register as teams of two in one of three divisions: men's, women's, or co-ed. Awards will be given to the top 3 teams in each division.

REGISTRATION & INFORMATION

Come Chill With Us 🥶

The spring Polar Plunge® season starts in less than one month. Cool your body while warming your heart and register to join us at one of the following locations:

March 1 - Council Bluffs

March 8 - Iowa City/Cedar Rapids

April 26 - Cedar Falls/Waterloo