Portland, OR. Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) held its ‘Breakfast of Champions’ on October 13th. Money raised will support Special Olympic athletes’ participation in programs such as Unified Champion Schools, athletic events across the state, access to wellness programs, social engagement, and more.
Special Olympics Oregon athletes compete in sports like swimming, soccer, basketball, softball, esports and track.
The online event featured KGW News Anchor, Drew Carney and musical guest, Shawn Hinz, performing an original song.
Special Olympic athletes are looking forward to having things get back to normal after a lot of virtual participation. According to the nonprofit, here’s the plan:
The target date for Phase 2 is January 1, 2022 with a return to statewide sports. The plan is to offer a traditional SOOR Winter Sports Season featuring basketball, power lifting, and snow sports. Our hope is that public health trends allow for gathering and other safety restrictions to be relaxed or eliminated and for competitions to be offered locally as well as regionally. More information about a transition into Phase 2 will be shared toward the end of 2021.
Below is a recording of the program. Donations are still being accepted.
From SOOR:
Covid update: While Oregon has now opened with fewer restrictions, there is still risk associated with Special Olympics Oregon returning to in-person activities at this time. Community spread of COVID-19 continue to occur in several parts of the state. The Delta variant is a growing concern – especially since there are still several counties with vaccine rates lower than 50%. Many of our participants remain at higher risk. It is estimated that as many as one-half to two-thirds of our athletes fall into the high-risk category. For a complete list of the underlying health and other conditions that Special Olympics, Inc. has determined to be high risk, please click here: SOI Fact Sheet: Who Is High Risk. In addition, many of our volunteers may also fall into higher risk categories for infection or negative outcomes due to infection.
COVID-19 VACCINES
Currently, SOOR does NOT require the vaccine to return to in-person participation. Further, we do not collect data on who has and has not been vaccinated or have a reliable means to track this prior to registration for the upcoming season. Special Olympics, Inc (SOI) is currently developing a tracking app that we will consider in the future. In Phase 1, all participants (athletes, Unified partners, coaches, other volunteers) will be held to the same safety and masking protocols regardless of vaccine status.
Everyone age 12 and older are now eligible to get the vaccine in Oregon. Special Olympics encourages everyone who has access to the COVID-19 vaccine, to get vaccinated. The vaccine will help protect you from getting COVID-19. If you still get infected after you get vaccinated, the vaccine works to prevent serious illness. By getting vaccinated, you also help protect people around you. People with intellectual disabilities are almost 6 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the general population. The vaccine helps to reduce the risk of serious disease and death. This information is not meant to be complete, exhaustive, or a substitute for medical professional advice or OHA and CDC guidance and is being made available in the context of the public health emergency related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
For more vaccine-related resources, please see resources on the right-hand side of this page.
VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING
We are proud of the incredible response we have received from athletes, volunteers, and supporters to our virtual programming during the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19. The health and well-being of our athletes has been our top priority. As we transition back into some in-person experiences, virtual programming options will remain moving forward. Programs currently being offered include:
SOOR Active
Special Olympics Oregon launched this at-home wellness community in April 2020 and it has grown to more than 1,250 members. SOOR Active provides on-going virtual health education, wellness, sport, fitness, and social experiences. SOOR Active will continued in the future but will modify programming as we return to in person experiences moving forward.
