NEWS RELEASE
900 Special
Olympics Iowa bowlers to compete in
State
Bowling Tournament Nov. 21
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: November 5, 2009
Contacts: Pam Wagner, Vice President of Games and
Competition for SOIA at 515-986-5520
or 515-418-2282 or Joyce Allard, Director
of Communications at 515-418-2278
On Saturday,
November 21 nearly 900 SOIA bowlers
will compete in the annual State Bowling Tournament at AMF and Bowlerama Lanes
in Des Moines. Athletes of all ages and ability will participate in singles,
doubles or on a team. Ramp bowling is available for athletes who are unable to
throw their own bowling ball. More than 250 volunteers will donate their time
to serve the athletes and make this event a success.
SOIA Vice
President of Games and Competition Pam Wagner
said this annual event has been taking place for more than 28 years. “Bowling
is the sport with our third highest participation numbers. We have around 4,200
bowlers competing in the Area Bowling competitions and of those, 900 win their
way to the State Tournament.”
The opening
ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. with competition to follow. Competition takes place
in three sessions, one at 10 a.m., one at 12:30 p.m. and one at 2:30 p.m.
Special
Olympics Iowa will provide 1,200 lunches for the athletes and coaches complements
of the following local McDonalds stores: 2540 East University Ave., 3000 S.E.
14th St., 601 University Ave., 3275 East Euclid Ave., 1404 Des
Moines St., 1345 East Euclid Ave. and 4201 Fleur Drive.
Wagner said,
“These events offer persons with intellectual disabilities wonderful
opportunities to develop their strength, coordination and social skills. We
thank Firestone for their gracious support and service to our athletes by
sponsoring this event.”
SOIA is a nonprofit organization serving Iowans with intellectual
disabilities since 1968. SOIA provides training and competitions in 22 sports
for more than 11,300 athletes and their Unified Sports Partners representing
each of Iowa’s 99 counties. For more information, please call 515-986-5520 or
visit www.soiowa.org.
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