Team does well at 2023 Special Olympics North America Softball Championship

Thirteen Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC) softball athletes and five coaches competed in the 2023 Special Olympics North America (SONA) Softball Championship, winning the bronze medal in their division. The event was held Sept. 14-17, 2023, at Peaks View Park in Lynchburg, Virginia. This was the second year the tournament has been held in Lynchburg.

Hosted by Special Olympics North America with support from Special Olympics Virginia, The Coca-Cola Company, Virginia Moose Association, Sheetz and Lynchburg Parks and Recreation, this four-day event featured 14 teams and nearly 200 athletes and Unified Partners, all representing states and provinces in the United States and Canada.

The competition concluded with awards on Sept. 17. Competition was offered in traditional and Unified Sports team formats. Special Olympics Unified Sports brings individuals with and without intellectual disabilities together on the same team.

Special Olympics Cleveland County athletes represented SONC, led by head coach Heather Kauffman and supported by coaches Katlyn Beam, Duncan Stetson, James Littlejohn, Sr., and Patricia McDonald.

The following Special Olympics Cleveland County athletes represented SONC in the 2023 SONA Softball Championship: Josh Atkins, Brian Black, Kierra Bostic, Christopher Campbell, Lamorris Campbell, Kenneth Fisher, Jr., Garey Hayes, Kenneth Jones, James Littlejohn, Jr., Katie Newell, Brian Oliver, Dayla Smarr and Robert Tanner.

About Special Olympics North Carolina

Since 1968, the organization has used the transformative power of sports to improve the lives of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Nearly 40,000 athletes in North Carolina inspire thousands of coaches, sports officials, local program committee members and event organizers involved in Special Olympics statewide. SONC offers year-round training and competition in 20 Olympic-type sports on local and state levels as well as health and wellness initiatives to improve the health status and increase access to community health resources for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Youth become agents of change through Unified Champion Schools, an education and sports-based program created by Special Olympics to build an inclusive environment among youth with and without intellectual disabilities as well as empower them to become youth leaders and create change in their community.

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