Aug. 17, 2020
The health and safety of all athletes, volunteers and family members are paramount in our approach to returning to activity. We remain committed to providing resources and support to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as maintaining the health and safety of our Special Olympics community.
Based on information from experts, we have decided large-scale events that require overnight accommodations, more extensive travel arrangements and mass gatherings (such as meal operations) are not possible for 2020. As a result, Fall Championships will not occur in Virginia Beach this November.
Our staff recently shared information about the Fitness Combine, and we will focus our fall activities in this space. Where possible, smaller local and/or regional Fitness Combine events could occur in late fall, but we will be in contact with more details on those opportunities. For additional information regarding the Fitness Combine, please visit our Fitness Combine web page.
The Fitness Combine (and overall athlete fitness) will become an important part of our ongoing SOVA Sports and Healthy Athletes program. We must begin to help our athletes become healthier and fitter with a chance to get better and win; on an off the playing field. We must help them reverse the 2x, 2x, 5x, -16 statistics. What’s that you ask? CLICK HERE. Please share this document and the statistics with your athletes, parents, caregivers, coaches and volunteers. The ultimate in Athlete Leadership is when athletes begin to take responsibility for their personal health. Many already have been working out 4-5 days per week by tapping into our virtual fitness offerings on Facebook. In this challenging landscape we remain committed to providing as many virtual fitness and educational opportunities as possible. We challenge every athlete and coach to become engaged every day in our journey to good health and well-being.
If you have any questions or need to reach out to us, you can contact any staff member via email. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
Rick Jeffrey, Special Olympics Virginia President