TEAM LANCASTER NEWS
LATE FALL 2023
Hello, athletes, families, and volunteers! Team Lancaster has had a very busy fall with many exciting competitions and upcoming events. Here’s an update.
Fall Competitions
Sectionals for fall sports, including volleyball, powerlifting, long distance walking and bocce, were held at Juniata College on Sunday, October 1. All athletes earning gold advanced to Villanova's Fall Fest. Congratulations to Amy Birk, Alane DeCheubell, Adam Wood, Katie Burns, Tim Haynes, Addison Sebest, David Singleton, Cristian Phibbs, Marty Zeamer. While not earning gold, Alison Anderson and Chloe Phillips were also selected to attend FF.
The statewide Fall Fest was held at Villanova University from Friday, November 3 through Sunday, November 5. Team Lancaster earned many individual gold, silver and bronze medals in power lifting and long-distance walking. Volleyball and bocce both won gold in their divisions! Results from Fall Fest can be found at https://specialolympicspa.org/fall-fest-results. We extend a GIANT THANK YOU to Coaches Bonnie, Marty, John, Nate, Sonya, Andy, Samantha and Anne for all the time and effort they gave to make Fall Fest a reality for Team Lancaster. Check out photos from Fall Fest on our Facebook Page – Special Olympics Lancaster PA.
Fundraising
ExtraGive: Friday, November 17. This virtual event, run by the Lancaster County Community Foundation, has been an important fundraiser for Team Lancaster, and we hope to raise even more money this year. We especially want to expand our number of donors by encouraging everyone involved in Team Lancaster to ask others to support us during the ExtraGive. Each individual donation helps us earn our way to matching funds, and all money raised goes directly to Team Lancaster. For more information on the ExtraGive, go to https://www.extragive.org.
Support Team Lancaster through the ExtraGIVE
on November 17th!
Polar Plunge: Saturday, January 20. Be Bold, Get Cold! Plungers jump into the icy waters at Gifford Pinchot State Park. Money raised through the Plunge is used for training, competition, leadership training and health initiatives for our athletes. You can register to be part of Team Lancaster at the Plunge – go to https://specialolympicspa.org, click Events, then Fundraising Events, then Polar Plunge, then Capital Area. Under registration, register to join a team and search for Team Lancaster. Our individual members have combined forces to create an awesome fundraising team. Together we will raise more money for Special Olympics PA than we ever could alone. Encourage your family and friends to join us! More information about the Polar Plunge will be included in our next newsletter.
2024 Golf Tournament. While we were unable to hold a golf tournament this fall, we’re planning one for fall 2024. If you or someone you know would like to help plan this event, please email our county manager, Doug Welch, at DougWelchSOPALancster@gmail.com.
Have an idea for a fundraiser? Would you or someone you know like to help out with fundraising? Contact Tony Watts at tony.watts100@gmail.com.
Christmas Dance Party
All athletes and volunteers are invited to a Special Olympics Christmas Dance party on Friday, December 1 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM at the Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster. This is a fun event with craft activities and a great way to spend time with your friends. The party will be hosted by students from the Warwick High School National Honor Society. To attend please RSVP to Tony Watts at tony.watts100@gmail.com.
Spring Sports Signups
Team Lancaster plans to offer basketball, swimming, tennis and softball for spring 2024. Signups will open on December 15. All signups are now done online. If an athlete’s medical form is up to date and on file with Team Lancaster and Capital Area Region, an email will be sent with a link for participation signup. In addition to the email with the signup link, you can sign up using the link posted by Capital Area Region on its Facebook page when signups open.
For Additional Information
We are Team Lancaster, part of the Capital Area Region (Region 7) of Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA). The website for Team Lancaster, https://sites.google.com/view/sopa-team-lancaster/home, contains a wealth of information, including links to online sports registration and the athlete medical form, fundraising and community events and much more. Check it out! Are you on Facebook? Both Capital Area Region and Team Lancaster have Facebook pages – follow them for updates at Special Olympics Pennsylvania – Capital Area Region and Special Olympics Lancaster PA, along with Special Olympics Pennsylvania.
WE WISH ALL OF OUR ATHLETES, FAMILIES AND VOLUNTEERS A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!
Sports Signups
Sports Signups
There have been concerns about signing up for sports. Team Lancaster, like many of us, has gone through some changes since Covid. Sign ups for all Team Lancaster Sports are now done on line through the Special Olympics PA site. If you need help applying or internet access, please email us at SOPATeamLancaster@gmail.com or ask your coach.
Volunteers
We are struggling to find enough coaches for the number of athletes interested in participating. Without enough coaches to meet the mandated coach:athlete ratio, we cannot expand our offerings or even our current Teams. We need interested people to either step up and coach, or to help us find coaches willing to give of their time for a season.
Even if coaching isn't your thing, pleqase consider becoming a Class A Volunteer. Cleared Volunteers at this level can help us alleviate conflicts and problems with coach to Athlete ratios. SOPA will assist you and pay for clearances and a background check to help you become a Class A Volunteer!