Articles in Athletes

In the spirit of the holidays, Special Olympics Iowa is featuring 12 Days of Athletes throughout the month of December. In honor of these amazing athletes, please consider making your year-end donation to Special Olympics Iowa. If your donation is received by December 31, it will be DOUBLED!

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 Name:  Taylor Gross
Age: I turned 19 Dec. 4!
Delegation: IKM-Manning High School, Southwest Area
SOIA sports I participate in: bowling, basketball skills and athletics

What is your favorite part of Special Olympics? My favorite part is bowling. I love to practice bowing with my buddies and make it to state to get a medal.

What is a fun fact about yourself? I am a softball manager/player and a basketball manager for the varsity teams at school. I am a senior this year.

What is your favorite part about the holiday season? Giving presents to people.

In the spirit of the holidays, Special Olympics Iowa is featuring 12 Days of Athletes throughout the month of December. In honor of these amazing athletes, please consider making your year-end donation to Special Olympics Iowa. If your donation is received by December 31, it will be DOUBLED!

DONATE NOW!

 Name: Melissa Silver
Age: 26
Delegation: Leon SIRF, South Central Area
SOIA sports I participate in: bowling, athletics (50 m dash and softball throw), basketball skills, softball skills and equestrian

What is your favorite part of Special Olympics? My favorite part is bowling.

What is a fun fact about yourself? I love to ride horses with my mom and sister, Abby.  My favorite food is meatball pizza.

What is your favorite part about the holiday season? My favorite thing about Christmas is that my sister Sam comes back to see us.

The fourth annual Iowa Miss Amazing Pageant will be held January 29-30 at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs. The mission of the Miss Amazing organization is to provide opportunities for girls and women with disabilities to gain confidence in a supportive and fun environment!

The pageant will have a new layout for 2016 that organizers hope will be more efficient for the growing number of participants. The new format will feature a two-day show and full areas of competition both days. Rising Stars, Pre-teens, Junior Teens and Teens will participate on Friday, January 29, while Junior Miss, Miss, Senior Miss and Shooting Stars will participate on Saturday, January 30. Girls ages five and older can participate.

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In the spirit of the holidays, Special Olympics Iowa is featuring 12 Days of Athletes throughout the month of December. In honor of these amazing athletes, please consider making your year-end donation to Special Olympics Iowa. If your donation is received by December 31, it will be DOUBLED! Gifts on #GivingTuesday (Dec. 1) will be TRIPLED!

DONATE NOW

Day 1

Name: Isaac Youngblood
Age: 20
Delegation: Marshalltown Bobcats, Central Area

What does Special Olympics mean to you? Special Olympics means that I get to meet new people.

What is a fun fact about yourself? I am very funny

What is your favorite part about the holiday season? I get to see my family.

Thank you to all of our amazing athletes who submitted designs for our 2015 holiday card! We had a record number of entries this year and we loved them all so much, we could not pick just one!

The first artist selected was Tasha Conklin, a 23-year-old athlete from Sergeant Bluff. She was so excited her artwork was selected, that she feels like she won another Special Olympics medal!

The second artist selected was Tomi DeGrado from Marshalltown, who is also 23 years old. She created her design using thumb art, which she often does for cards and thank you notes.

Congratulations to Tasha and Tomi!

Artwork above by Tasha Conklin. Artwork below by Tomi DeGrado.

Plunging for a Purpose has taken on a whole new meaning for the Betsworth family. Mitchell Betsworth has been a Special Olympics Iowa athlete since junior high and now at the age of 20, completed his sixth Polar Plunge®.

“I love running into the water,” Mitchell says.

Mitchell is a member of the Sioux City Knights, which had 10 athletes on three different plunge teams participate in the 2015 Siouxland Polar Plunge® on Oct. 24. The teams raised more than $18,500 for Special Olympics Iowa.

But, the tradition of the Polar Plunge® began long before the Knights were formed.

“We heard something 11 years ago on the radio on a Wednesday,” recalled Mitchell’s dad, Troy Betsworth. “We collected money the night before and I talked my brother into doing it with me. There was a need for raising money for Special Olympics and we thought we could help.”

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Spirit Lake High School embodied the spirit of inclusion as Special Olympics Iowa athlete Megan Vierkant was crowned its 2015 Homecoming Queen on Sept. 23.

Megan was nominated as one of five senior girls up for the honor. When her name was called as one of the nominees she was a bit surprised, but her surprise quickly turned to excitement as she jumped up from the bleachers and ran to join the other candidates as the gym exploded with cheers.

The student body of 450 freshman through seniors voted to decide who would be their queen, and when Megan’s name was called once again, she was overwhelmed with support. The roar of the crowd, tears of joy and endless applause were only overshadowed by the support she was shown from the rest of the Homecoming Court.

“I was excited to get the crown!” Megan shared. “I am happy that my friends voted me to be the queen.  I had a fun week and am very happy!”

Megan’s royal reign continued through the week, participating in pep rallies at the elementary school, middle school and high school. She got her first ride in a convertible during the homecoming parade before proudly walking with her parents to be introduced to the cheering crowd at the big game. The king and queen each gave a short speech at the game, where Megan thanked everyone for supporting her in getting her crown.

“We are very blessed to have such a supportive school, peers and community for Megan,” said her mom, Nancy. “She is known all over town and greeted by name everywhere she goes.”

It’s easy to support someone as inspiring as Megan. She is a member of the marching band, concert band and concert choir at school. She also delivers Meals on Wheels several times a month, with several clients who wait for her day to deliver her meals.

As a Special Olympics athlete, Megan has become an ambassador for the Unified Sports program. She plays unified golf and always recruits one of her peers from school to be her partner, incorporating other friends to help her train for her non-unified competitions. The training program has become so popular that there is a waiting list of students to come be Special Olympics training partners.

Megan truly personifies how Special Olympics Iowa’s goal of acceptance and inclusion can truly benefit the entire community. We couldn’t be more proud of Megan and the students at Spirit Lake!

 

By Shelly Perkins, CLG Communications, Wells Fargo
Making the decision to help out, lend a hand, become involved, stand up for a cause, become an advocate, has a far-reaching and positive influence on so many lives. For Chick Herbert, a Business Initiatives Senior Manager in our Retail Services business in Des Moines, choosing to volunteer and serve on the board for Special Olympics Iowa (SOIA) the past nine years has been an extremely meaningful and rewarding experience for a number of reasons – specifically, meeting and growing a friendship with Tyler Leech.
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When submitting an athlete’s Application for Participation, please keep the following in mind:

• Athlete Physical Form – Any physical other than the Application for Participation in Special Olympics Iowa will not be accepted. This form is specifically designed for Special Olympics. Information listed on this form may not be listed on other forms.
  • If we do receive a different physical (example: school physical) that physical will not be approved and will be returned back to the sender, if possible.
  • If an athlete is transferring from another Special Olympics state program, we may accept their physical upon review.
• Athlete Consent – If the athlete is over the age of 18 and is their own legal guardian, they may sign the consent but they must have a witness signature.
  • If the athlete is over the age of 18 and is not their own legal guardian, the legal guardian will need to sign the consent form. If the form is not signed by the legal guardian the physical will not be approved.
• Verbal Consents – Per Special Olympics North America (SONA), we are required to have written consents only. Effective August 19, 2015, verbal consents will not be accepted.
• Delegation – Please remember to fill in the delegation at the top of the athlete physical. This helps ensure each athlete is placed with the correct delegation.
• Completion – Please remember to fill in all information on the athlete physical form. If all parts are filled in correctly, it will speed up the entry process and increase the likeliness of the physical being approved.

For legal reasons and for the safety of our athletes we have to follow these guidelines. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you have any questions, contact the state office at 515-986-5520.

Special Olympics Iowa athlete Brian Rolek received the opportunity of a lifetime when he was asked to compete at the Principal Charity Classic Pro-Am. A Pro-Am takes place before the professional event and joins ordinary golfers on a team with a PGA Tour golfer and, sometimes, a celebrity.

A self-taught golfer, Rolek held his own and even out-drove Champion’s Tour professional Jay Don Blake on a hole or two. Also on his team was NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton.

“It made me very proud to represent Special Olympics,” said Rolek. “I got to use skills I learned in Special Olympics such as how to interview and be comfortable with new people. It was great to be on the golf course and play as well as the other men. Special Olympics gave me the confidence and practice.”