The Aurora Sports Park and other venues around the city will be put through their paces by more than 1,000 Special Olympics athletes, unified partners and volunteer coaches on Saturday during Special Olympics Colorado’s annual Summer Classic.
The five-sport state championship event — which includes athletes as old as 74 and as young as nine — features competition in bocce, cycling, softball, golf and tennis, and is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Spectators can view the competitions for free.
Bocce (with 125 players), cycling (with 40 athletes) and softball (with 315 players) take place at the Aurora Sports Park, while the 60-athlete tennis competition is set for Utah Park and 118 golfers challenge Fitzsimons Golf Course.
Among the competitors in the golf portion — held on an 18-hole course for the first time — is Aurora resident Chris McElroy, a freshly-minted gold medalist at the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles. He is scheduled to tee off at 1:16 p.m.
For a full story on McElroy, see next week’s Aurora Sentinel.
Denver’s Julian Hall, a tennis player who earned a silver medal at the World Games, is also scheduled to play beginning at 8 a.m.
Medals will be presented throughout the day in different divisions in each competition, with all events expected to be finished by around 3 p.m.
More information can be found at specialolympics.org.
— Sports Editor Courtney Oakes
