ATTN: All Special Olympics programs have been put on hold until April due to the Coronavirus. We will reevaluate in April and update you if programs will resume at that time.

April will be a busy month this year. We will have practice or competitions in track and field, bowling, bocce, swimming, and volleyball. Check the calendar for times and locations (we will add the times and locations to the calendar after the Coronavirus situation subsides). Basketball will end with a tournament on April 7th. We hope our teams do well. Keep in mind that these events may end up rescheduling.

T-Shirts for all athletes will be available this month and we will give them out at various training locations. Thanks to the estate of James Desch for making this possible.

Volleyball will be a unified sport and parents or volunteers will be part of the team. See the coach at the training venue for details.

We are starting a bowling program for day programs in partnership with United Cerebal Palsey and hope to provide opportunities for athletes to participate during the day. This is new for us and is made possible by a grand from Car/Max Foundation.

The mission of Stanislaus Special Olympics is to provide an opportunity for athletes of all levels to participate. We will work to give all of our athletes equal time and resources to the best of their abilities.

We have started Track and Field Practice at John F. Kennedy School and are working towards our Regional Games on May 16th. This year, we will have four counties participating. We will welcome teams from Merced, Tuolumne, Mariposa and of course, Stanislaus. The winners from this meet will go on to compete at the Summer Games held at Davis in June.

We will start our swim program at Aquatic Dreams this month and have twelve athletes training this year.

Basketball will compete in a tournament on March 7th and we will not have track on that day.

This year, we are starting volleyball at Maddox Youth Center. Practice will start on March 14th and this will be a unified sport.

Bocce will be at Smyrna Park on Tuesdays starting March 10th.

This will be a busy month, so remember to have fun with everything you do.

John Wray, Area Director.

We are into 2020 with training stared in basketball at Maddox Youth Center. We are looking forward to our largest group ever. We always need coaches and this program is no exception.

We have been collecting shirt sizes from all of our athletes and coaches this year so we can provide tye-dyed commemorative shirts to all. It has been a few years since we have been able to do this but because of a generous grant from Car/Max Foundation, we will have shirts for everyone this year.

Track and field practice starts this month at John F. Kennedy School on February 22nd at 9:00 AM. We are getting ready for our regional competition in May when we will host teams from Mariposa and Merced counties.

Special Olympics has, since 1973, provided quality training and competition in a variety of sports thanks to continuing community support and the work of volunteers. Thanks to all!

John Wray, Director

We did not put out a calendar for August. We have some important dates for September so make sure to view the calendar. We are starting Soccer and Flag Football at John F. Kennedy School on Saturday Sept 7th. It is important that all players make the first practice because we will only have four weeks to practice before the tournament in Ripon. We will have flag football practice after soccer on Saturdays at 10:30 AM.

We are back from our trip to Davis and all athletes had a great time. We are currently practicing for Softball at The House and will be in competition in Lincoln soon.

Texas Roadhouse is doing a fundraiser for us on August 21st from 11 – 2 PM. Come and support our athletes.

We are moving into a busy time of year and will have many sports going on at the same time. We need to make sure we slow down and remember the reason we do what we do and to have fun while doing it.

John Wray

October has been a busy month. We participated int he regional soccer tournament in Ripon and did very well. We held our regional bowling tournament and this year will send 40 of our bowlers to regionals at Black Oak to bowl in their regionals for the first time.

We will be in the annual Christmas Parade in December and will include as many athletes as possible. if you want to participate, let your coach know and we will choose the athletes on a first come first serve basis.

Basketball will start in January and Track and Field wills tart in February. Swimming will start the first part of the year as well.

We are still looking for coaches for our sports. We will train you if you are interested.

We will be participating in the Polar Plunge fundraiser with Sonora. We need volunteer athletes for this event.

Thanks to all volunteers, donors, and athletes for the success of our program!

This month we are finishing three of our sports. We will end bowling the first week of May and our Track & Field Regionals will be held in Merced on May 5th. Bocce will be going to Fresno on May 19th for their first regional games. Our next sport will be Soft Ball in June.

We have had a rainy Spring and Track & Field has been having trouble getting practice time. We will have smaller area games but will have fun as always. Come out and support our super athletes on April 21st at JFK from 9:30 AM until 2:30 PM.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who worked so hard this year to make our program a success. We are expanding our sports and need more volunteers. If you can help, let us know or call 209-522-1544 and leave your name. We will get back to you.

Thanks to all our athletes who bring us joy throughout the year.
John Wray, Area Director.

April is here and it’s time for our local athletes to shine. Our Area Gamers for swimming and track and field are both scheduled for this month and they are a chance for our athletes to compete at home and show the community their skills. This year will be our 45th annual track and field meet and we are celebrating at the John F. Kennedy field April 21st. Our swim competition will be April 17th at Aquatic Dreams, 1212 Kansas Ave. in Modesto. We invite everyone to come out and support our athletes.

We will have our first bocce competition in conjunction with our track meet and we anticipate several other county programs to be there.

We need volunteers for April 21st. If you can help or have a group that can help call 209-522-1544 and leave a message. We will get back to you.

See you at the Area Games
John Wray, Area Director

Spring is here, and we are getting ready for spring sports. We are training for track and field and bocce on Saturdays at JFK. Swimming is at Aquatic Dreams on Tuesdays and the Peace-Laugh-Play bowling will continue. Out bowling banquet is Sunday, March 11th at HTC.

We have had a great turnout for basketball and the teams will compete in Fresno on March 10th.

We are looking forward to another great year of training and competition and, as always, are looking for more volunteer coaches. If you know anyone who might be interested, have them contact the office at (209) 522-1544 and leave a message.

Continue training and be sure to keep it fun.

John Wray, Area Director

Special Olympics participated in the 2016 Parade of Lights again this year and all participants had a great time. We didn’t win this year, but we were the happiest float in the parade.

We are starting basketball January 14th at the Maddox Youth Center. This has been one of our largest team programs, but we have room for a few more participants. Sign-up will be from 11am-1pm.

Track and field will start in February, date to be determined. We are hosting the Regional Games this year with several other county programs participating. WE will have Bocce competition this year so watch our calendar for the start date.

We are posting information on our website as we have it so make sure to check back for all of our programs information.

We are expanding our programs and need help from the community. If you can help, please let us know by contacting us.

John Wray
Area Director

December is here and we have several things going on. The Christmas Parade is the first Saturday in December. We will have an entry but information has not been returned by the parade organizers so we don’t know any times or locations for participants to meet yet.

We will have our bowling tournament December 11th at McHenry Bowl. See you there.

CarMax gave us another grant to expand our program. We are working on our web page from the last grant and need your help in making it a success. We also are looking for people to work on expansion plans. If you are interested, please contact us. We need your help.

We are always looking for volunteers for our sports programs. Apply here on our website.

We wish you well during the holidays and joy throughout the year.

John Wray
Area Director