SPECIAL OLYMPICS WYOMING DELEGATES SELECTED TO ATTEND WORLD GAMES IN GREECE!

Special Olympics Wyoming is excited to announce that two athletes and one coach will represent Wyoming as part of Team USA at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece from June 25-July 4, 2011.  Wyoming delegates hail from Casper, Cody and Worland.

 

Meghen Blumberg, 31 years old from Casper, will compete in equestrian events and has been involved in Special Olympics for the past sixteen years.  When not training, Blumberg works at the Casper Events Center and enjoys reading, coloring and crafting.  She is very proud of being a college student, a Global Messenger (which means she is a trained speaker on behalf of Special Olympics) and the current athlete representative on the Special Olympics Wyoming board of directors.  Blumberg’s attendance at these World Games means to her “a lot, that I went the extra mile and succeeded” and will be her second time representing Wyoming and the USA on the World stage as she also competed at the 1997 World Games in Ontario, Canada.  Blumberg appreciates that Special Olympics has given her the opportunity to make more friends, have fun and travel.

    

Tim Heckert , 33 years old from Worland, will compete in aquatic events.  Heckert has been involved in Special Olympics for over 20 years and through that involvement has learned about teamwork and how his efforts can pay off.  He is most proud of how all of his hard work shows when he earns a medal at a Special Olympics competition. When not training for aquatic events Heckert's favorite hobbies include swimming, cycling, bowling and singing.  Heckert is very proud to have been selected to represent Wyoming and the USA at these World Games and is excited to have the opportunity to meet new people and tell them about Wyoming.

Sarah Call, an Aquatics coach from Cody has been involved in Special Olympics for 16 years and currently works as a special educator at Sunset Elementary School in Cody.  While this will be her first World Games, she has attended the 2006 and 2010 National Games as an aquatics coach. She has also coached cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and enjoys doing both with her family. Call, who also officiates middle school, high school and USA swim meets, is most proud of successfully managing her life’s daily challenges. “I believe that being a good mother, wife, teacher, friend, coach and volunteer comes before any of my other accomplishments,” she says.  Call says that Special Olympics has had such a positive impact on her life “that I am a more optimistic person because of the experience. The atmosphere of a Special Olympics practice or competition is so filled with encouragement, camaraderie, acceptance and excitement that I can only carry these things into other parts of my life.” Call also enjoys reading, yoga and walking her golden retriever Loki. Mostly she enjoys spending time with her husband Terry and children Jonathan (13) and Natalie (10) – whether it’s camping, hiking, skiing, playing poker or watching movies.

World Games are held every 2 years, in different locations and alternate between Summer and Winter Games.  At the 2011 World Summer Games in Athens, there will be 7500 athletes, 2500 coaches, 25,000 volunteers, 3000 event officials, 40,000 Special Olympics families and hundreds of thousands of fans in attendance! 

 

Congratulations to Deputy Boot Hill of the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office, who was selected to represent Special Olympics Wyoming and the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR), when he travels to the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece this June.  Hill was selected to the Global Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg team after being nominated for the prestigious position by Special Olympics Wyoming staff and LETR co-directors.  

As an important part of the World Games, the LETR Final Leg will heighten awareness and take the message of   Special Olympics and the World Games to every corner of Greece as well as to Cyprus, Istanbul, Turkey, and Alexandria, Egypt.  Law Enforcement officials and Special Olympics athletes, unified together as a part of the Final Leg Team, will serve as true Guardians of the Flame and promote the powerful messages of inclusion,  acceptance, and ability every step of the three-week journey to promote the World Games.

The 2011 Final Leg will begin with the Flame Lighting Ceremony in Athens, Greece on June 9 and cover scores of cities, towns, and communities on the way to the Opening Ceremonies in Athens on June 25.  The Games end July 4.

Deputy Hill joined the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office 7.5 years ago.  As a three year member of the LETR, Hill serves as his area’s Leg Leader, plays a key role in the success of the Sheridan Jackalope Jump at Lake DeSmet, organizes the Sheridan Cops-n-Jocks fundraiser and also presents awards to Special Olympics Wyoming athletes at area games.

              2011 SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD SUMMER GAMES

                                     TEAM USA FACT SHEET

WHAT: The Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in Athens, Greece in 2011

WHEN: June 25 - July 4, 2011 (Team USA will depart for Athens on June 15, 2011, and will return to the United States on July 6, 2011)

WHO: Team USA – 300 athletes and 120 coaches/staff

WHERE: Athens, Greece

SPORTS: Athletics, Aquatics, Bocce, Bowling, Canoeing, Cycling, Equestrian, Golf, Gymnastics, Powerlifting, Sailing, Tennis, Basketball, Soccer, Softball and Volleyball.

For more information about the 2011 World Summer Games visit www.athens2011.org. 

For more information about Team USA visit www.specialolympicsteamusa.org.

If you would like to help offset the costs of sending athletes to World Games, please click on an athlete's name and pledge to sponsor their partipation!