The Post-Journal
by Gavin Paterniti
May 2018
A Day in the Sun
Having already postponed their annual event due to weather, organizers of the event were pleased when the skies cleared and approximately 400 child athletes from across the area got to enjoy themselves at Jamestown Public Schools’ Strider Field on Wednesday morning.
“This is a big deal for these kids because a lot of them aren’t often involved in outside athletics in their schools and communities; a lot of them look forward to this day,” said Robert Goold, coordinator. “This is a good way for the community to come together, and let the kids take in a beautiful venue on a beautiful day and shine.”
Goold said the Special Olympics has been held annually in Jamestown since 1971. He first became involved as a high school volunteer in 1973, and began helping coordinate the event in 1988. In addition to the Southern Chautauqua County Special Olympics, a north county edition will be held next week at SUNY Fredonia.
A number of events and activities were held for the approximately 400 participating athletes, including a 50-, 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash, a four-by-one relay, running long jump, standing broad jump and a softball tournament.
The events were overseen by approximately 100 high school volunteers from seven Chautauqua County schools: Frewsburg, Maple Grove, Southwestern, Jamestown, Panama, Chautauqua Lake and Falconer.
The additional financial assistance of the community is critical to the success of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame.
We gratefully acknowledge these individuals and organizations for their generous support.