Avon Outreach: Special Olympics Basketball Tournament 

After months of practice, local Special Olympics athletes participated in the Special Olympics CT Holiday Classic basketball tournament this weekend thanks to help from Avon student volunteers. 

Throughout the fall, students in the Avon Outreach club join athletes and staff from Special Olympics Farmington Valley in the Field House on campus to play basketball. Each session includes a mixture of practicing skills and playing pickup games. 

Avon Outreach is a club that organizes various community service opportunities for students. Special Olympics programs are some of the most popular opportunities, with about 60 students having participated at least once this fall. 

Benjamin Schloat, who serves as Director of Community Service and Clubs in addition to his role as a Spanish teacher, says the boys look forward to the weekly practices. "They were very well attended by Avon boys. It went well this season."

On Saturday and Sunday, the athletes that the boys have been practicing with participated in their Holiday Classic tournament. While the boys participate in practices, they don’t usually participate in the tournament because it takes place the weekend that the boys go home for Thanksgiving break. This year, Jack Ginter ‘23 was able to participate. 

In a post on their Facebook page, Special Olympics Farmington Valley thanked all the volunteers. "Great weekend at the Special Olympics CT Holiday Classic! Congrats to all of our teams on a job well done! Thank you to all of our volunteers and fans! We couldn't do it without you!"

While Special Olympics basketball may be coming to an end, it's only a matter of months before Special Olympics soccer starts up in the spring.