Competition & Games

General Information

Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) offers more than 300 competitions for 18,000 athletes in 54 local programs.  Competition is offered in 23 Olympic-type sports for athletes eight years or older. Unlike other sporting events, there is no charge to participate or attend a Special Olympics competition for the competitor, family or spectator.  SOPA operates on a tri-season basis of winter, summer, and fall.  Athletes are eligible to progress from local to sectional to state to national or even international competition. Special Olympics alternates between World Summer and World Winter Games every two years similar to the Olympics.  SOPA athletes can qualify for international competition at our state-level games.   

How To Participate

In order to compete, all athletes must train with their local program for a minimum of eight consecutive weeks prior to competition.  In order to train and get involved, athletes must complete an Application for Participation (formerly known as "Medical") and submit it to their local program coordinator.  To find your local program contact information in order to participate as an athlete or coach, go to Special Olympics Pennsylvania Regional Programs.  To find out more about SOPA Competitions, click on one of the links to the right under Competition & Games.

Kelly Horn, Lycoming County, competes in athletics for Team PA at the first USA National Games held in Ames, Iowa in July 2006.

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Competition News You Can Use

This section is intended for the coach or athlete to give them general SOPA competition updates and changes to SOPA procedures. To check for competition changes with particular sports, please go to the appropriate Games. If you have any specific questions, please contact Melissa Moody-White, SOPA Senior Sports Director.

Event Information

All SOPA competition and training registration materials or entry forms can now be found on the SOPA Database under the Resources Tab. Anyone with Database rights can access these forms at Special Olympics PA Database.  For more information on accessing the SOPA Database, please contact your local program manager or database coordinator.

Winter Events Changes

All events are offered to the entire state:

• Winter Training Camp, formerly the Western Winter Sectional, will be Sunday to Monday, January 28-29, 2007.  It is a training for coaches and athletes in alpine skiing, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing at Hidden Valley.
• Winter Sectional, formerly the Eastern Winter Sectional, will be Monday to Tuesday, January 22-23, 2007.  It is a competition in alpine skiing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the Poconos.
• Winter Games has moved days of the week to Sunday through Wednesday, February 25-28, 2007. It is a state-level competition in alpine skiing at Hidden Valley; cross country skiing and snowshoeing at Blue Knob; figure skating at the War Memorial and speed skating at Planet Ice.  Floor hockey will be its own state tournament.
• State Floor Hockey Tournament, formerly the Central Winter Sectional, will be Saturday to Sunday, March 3-4, 2007 at Bald Eagle Area High School in Wingate for team and individual skills events.

E-Mail Communication

Did you know that SOPA Staff regularly send e-mails to coaches and volunteers regarding competition and training opportunities and updates?  In addition, we e-mail Contact Persons or Heads of Delegation (HOD) information and updates necessary to prepare your delegation prior to events.  SOPA receives hundreds of returned e-mails weekly due to old or inaccurate e-mail addresses.  To ensure that you get the latest sports news, please do the following:

• If you are a coach or volunteer for a local program:
  • Confirm your information is accurate and current in your SOPA Database Record  with your local program database coordinator.
  • If any of your contact information changes (i.e. address, phone, e-mail), let your local program database coordinator know.
• If you are a Contact Person or HOD for a SOPA competition:
  • List your e-mail address on the Letter of Intent.
  • Check your in-box during registration time regularly.