By: Amy Wendt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
It was a beautiful day at the Dorothy Biddle Park ball diamonds on Tuesday, September 12 and the Special Olympics of Fulton County (SOFC) Jaguars took full advantage of the perfect late summer evening by competing in their First Annual Unified Softball tournament.
According to SOFC Coordinator Celia Wilson, the softball season traditionally ends in a special game, where players are joined by their loved ones for a memorable event.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the demands of the schedule have prevented the opportunity for such a season-ending celebration.
Looking forward to bringing the tradition back, the response among the Special Olympics athletes and unified players was overwhelmingly positive.
GAME FACE…Team Hartman (Green) member Brad Damman puts on his game face following a fist bump from volunteer umpire Kenny Cowell.
“Our athlete leaders’ kind of wanted to do something different for our softball season this year. We put this together and we were expecting two teams and we ended up with three whole teams,” noted Wilson.
With 15-16 players per team consisting of Jaguar athletes, unified players, and friends and family, nearly 50 players got a chance to play ball.
Many hands pitched in to make it a successful event for all for all. The Wauseon Recreation Department set up the field while parent volunteers and Triangular Processing staff helped with other details.
Local area businesses got involved as well; Wauseon Ace Hardware printed the game day shirts and The Table on Fulton helped feed the crowd the night of the event.
The evening was full of fun and laughter for all involved. Though Team Wilson (Blue) claimed the official championship title, every participant left the field with cherished memories in tow.
Amy can be reached at amy@thevillagereporter.com