This holiday season, we at Special Olympics Texas want to share with you an extra special December Newsletter that is bursting at the seams with more news, more stories, more accomplishments, and more opportunities to be proud to be team Special Olympics Texas.
Freezin' for a Reason!
Join us for our annual Polar Plunges.
Special Olympics Texas invites you to take part in the Annual Polar Plunge®! Are you brrrrrrave enough? This event is a unique opportunity for individuals, businesses and organizations to support more than 58,000 Special Olympics Texas athletes.
All money raised for Polar Plunge will go toward providing year-round sports training and competition, health and inclusion programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities in your community.
Find your nearest Polar Plunge and click on their event page to find out how you can be involved!
Do you have photos from an event or good news you'd like to share with SOTX? Email your story to communications@sotx.org for a chance to be featured!
The 2024 Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) International Conference recently concluded in the vibrant city of San Antonio, Texas, bringing together nearly 1200 law enforcement officers, volunteers, Special Olympics athletes, staff, and leadership from around the globe. Held from November 14 to 16, this annual event served as a powerful platform of inspiration, camaraderie, and shared purpose. One of the most compelling highlights of this year’s conference was the unveiling of the new LETR marketing campaign, “Find Your Why.” Through a series of heartfelt testimonials, officers, athletes, and ambassadors opened up about their motivations and experiences. These narratives not only inspired but also reminded attendees of the powerful reasons behind their commitment to Special Olympics.
International Law Enforcement Torch Run Conference Blog 2024
"Hello SOTX Athletes, Families, Volunteers, & community members. Today I would like to share with you my experience of attending the Annual International Law Enforcement Torch Run Conference which was held this year in San Antonio November 14th-16th. This is a conference that is held every year that Law Enforcement agencies from around the world attend to celebrate the remarkable achievements and work of the Law Enforcement Torch Run which is the largest grassroots fundraiser for Special Olympics. The Law Enforcement Torch Run was first started in 1981 in Wichita Kansas by Chief Richard LaMunyon with the Wichita Police Department.
Chief LaMunyon & his wife attended the conference this year in San Antonio and Chief spoke about the early days of the Torch Run and how it got started within the departments of the Wichita Police force. This year's conference was attended by thousands of Law Enforcement Officers, Special Olympics staff from programs all over the world, Special Olympics athletes from programs around the world and also volunteers who help drive the Special Olympics Mission. The conference was 3 full days of General sessions and breakout sessions where attendees learned about the importance of the Torch Run and the importance of Special Olympics and “why” both the torch run fundraiser and Special Olympics are so important in our world today."
ICYMI: Winter Games Info Webinar #1
We hosted the Winter Games Info Webinar #1 on Tuesday, December 3rd, at 6 p.m. This webinar covered registration, schedules, locations, hotels, and more. The 2025 Winter Games will be held from February 14 to 16, 2025, and include Powerlifting, volleyball, floorball, golf, and FUNdamental Sports.
Below is the webinar in video format and the slides can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OBvbtSqAjnv5qYNC2HpaNeQH9rywTPWP/view?usp=sharing
Both are also posted on the Winter Games webpage found here: https://www.sotx.org/winter-games-coaches
Do you have photos from an event or good news you'd like to share with SOTX? Email your story to communications@sotx.org for a chance to be featured!
To Lutheran High School of San Antonio, robotics isn’t just about building machines; it’s about building a more inclusive world.
Building Bridges: How Lutheran High School of San Antonio Champions Inclusion Through Robotics
Special Olympics Texas - "FUNdamental Sports and Lutheran High School began working together in the spring of 2021, preparing for the reopening of face-to-face competitions for the Fall Classic in College Station. Unfortunately, Covid went back on an uprise, and SOTX was forced to move all events back to virtual, focusing on reopening in 2022. Lutheran High School of San Antonio (LHSSA) is a small, parochial school serving grades 9 through 12, with an annual enrollment of about 130 students in northwest San Antonio, Texas.
Lutheran High School students are practicing and preparing for the Summer Games activity as part of the Learning is FUNdamental sports program that following May. The team helped athletes with multiple challenges pilot a quadcopter drone or drive a robot, which is one of the sports activities of the FUNdamentals experience. This is where an initial group of “No Boys Allowed” robotics team members formed a ‘genius hour” project for their senior year Innovation hour work to design, build, and program a device to help athletes who cannot hold and shoot a regulation girls basketball make a free throw shot from the foul line. Innovation Lab time on the LHSSA campus has evolved over four years into a variety of quarterly club/enrichment options in which students choose to engage in the last hour of school on Monday through Thursday.
This partnership also developed a demonstration of how a Robot could be used as the throwing arms of those who could not participate in Field Events such as Tennis Ball throws or Softball Throws; by simply positioning the robot and pressing a button, they could now participate in these events, thereby becoming included in State-Level Competitions. Drones were added as an obstacle course activity to fly the drones through a course to increase their movement and hand-eye coordination; these skills being developed or improved overlapped with all the sports we offered.
The impact of this work goes far beyond developing a technical skill; it touches lives. One unforgettable moment came when a mother captured on video her 20-year-old son making a regulation-free throw for the first time in his life. Her sheer joy, jumping up and down and shouting to volunteers, “Did you see my son make a basket!” is a testament to the power of these projects. Seeing athletes and their families realize dreams they never thought possible is a profound reminder of why these efforts matter. Even now, recalling that memory brings tears to my eyes, underscoring this work's deep emotional and transformative impact.
FUNdamental Sports would like to thank the students from Lutheran High School, San Antonio, for their dedication and support in developing robotic equipment for athletes. Adapted equipment is so expensive that most families and programs cannot purchase it due to the costs. Their inspiration and talents to create and solve a motor development challenge that many FUNdamental Sports athletes have so that the athletes are provided the opportunity to experience the magic of Sports.
Thank you to Lutheran High School Students and teachers, Andrew Schuetze for sharing their creations and passions with us."
Melissa ISD to Host Special Olympics Texas Summer Games in 2025
The 2025 Summer Games marks the first time this event will be held in Melissa, making it a unique opportunity for the district and local community to showcase their hospitality and support for Special Olympics Texas. - Melissa ISD
Silver Torch Presentation!
Grand Prairie Police Department on X:
Detention Supervisor Cassandra Simmons was presented with this Silver Torch today by @SOTexas in recognition of all her work with #SpecialOlympics Athletes. She and Sgt Dearing do an amazing job representing @GrandPrairiePD for such an amazing cause. #GPPDProud
Unified Leaders, Today and Tomorrow!
Lone Star Elementary
The 4th grade Unified Leaders at Lone Star Elementary recently collaborated with the Project Management Institute.
Working in Unified teams, the students used recycled materials to create a town.
The challenge was to design their towns near water and find innovative ways to shield them from the elements.
The students of all abilities embraced the challenge, engaging in meaningful discussions and generating creative solutions.
Unified Basketball Game
Conroe ISD
Last month there was an incredible Unified Basketball game between Peet Junior High and Moorhead Junior High.
The Unified basketball game happened on November 22, 2024 in Conroe ISD.
Athletes and partners participated in basketball, cheer, dance and Unified choir.
There was overwhelming support from administration, the student body and families!
Athlete Leadership Trainings:
Introduction & Understanding Leadership
Are you a SOTX athlete new to Special Olympics and would like to be trained to be an Athlete Leader and make a difference in the organization? Would you like to make a difference for our organization outside of just competing in sports? If you answered yes to either of these questions, we invite you to attend two Athlete Leadership training sessions we have coming up on January 25th, 2025 & February 8th, 2025.
On January 25th, we will be doing a virtual training session over Zoom from 10:00 A.M to 12:00 P.M called Introduction to Leadership. In this introduction to Leadership training, athletes will be introduced to Special Olympics and our mission statement, learn essential facts about Special Olympics and learn about the 3 guiding principles of Athlete Leadership. This introduction to leadership training is the first training required for an athlete to be a certified athlete leader for Special Olympics Texas.
After the Introduction to Leadership training, athletes are invited to attend the 2nd required training to become certified athlete leaders on February 8th from 10:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.
This training is entitled Understanding Leadership. In the Understanding Leadership training course, athletes will learn the basic leadership principles of being an athlete leader for Special Olympics. They will gain insight into what behaviors great leaders portray & exemplify. Also, athletes will learn about 6 basic leadership skills they can utilize as an athlete leader. Finally, athletes will learn how to create their leadership journey as a Special Olympics athlete leader.
We would love to see some new Special Olympics athletes who want to start their athlete leadership journey and make a difference in our organization outside of just being an athlete and participating in sports.
Below is a link to a registration form to register for these two required trainings to become certified as an athlete leader for SOTX. Please complete this registration form by January 15, 2025, if you would like to attend these training sessions. If you would like to register for these two exciting training opportunities, please fill out the registration form below by January 15, 2025.
Unified Fore Joy Awards Webinar!
Join us on Zoom
When: Friday, December 20th at 1 PM
You can access the webinar by CLICKING THIS LINK: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctc-uqpj8oGNExwcpTmMnBhwBdRAEMuMKC&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1734291634807304&usg=AOvVaw3qmqdWq2uPdGnbLRf9ff89
Or via the button below!
Coming Up...
A Winter Worth the Wait...
We love all of the exciting events, competitions, and fun that Special Olympics Texas has planned this winter! Don't miss out on ANY of the excitement. Head over to our website and check out our events calendar by clicking the button below!
Do you have photos from an event or good news you'd like to share with SOTX? Email your story to communications@sotx.org for a chance to be featured!