Team Adams October Update

Hello Team Adams supporters,

October is here! The seasons may change, but our mission remains the same....to provide year round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. We added 2 new sports this year, which brings our total to 14 different sports offered throughout the year! Needless to say, we keep very busy and we love sharing everything with you. Here's a look at the exciting events, accomplishments, and opportunities happening at Team Adams!

Happy Fall,

~ Joy

Joy Weikert

adamsteamleader@gmail.com

717-398-7657

Okay, everyone. This is another plea to get some more athletes signed up for our new sport, floorball! We currently have 7 athletes who are excited to give it a try, but we need some more athletes so that we have enough to field a team for competitions. So far we have Sereck Griffin, Kaleigh McMaster, Gavin Neiderer, Luke Seech, Jonathan Stoner, Jayce Thayer, and Nina Thurner-Diaz.

We have some coaches who are getting trained to coach floorball and they can't wait to teach this new sport to our athletes. As of now our coaching staff includes Anna Charnigo, Diane Fulton, Susan Redding, Jill Stoner, and Tina Young. Floorball will compete at a regional competition to try to qualify for Indoor Winter Games, which will be held in York on March 6-7. Floorball practices will be held on Thursday evenings from 6:00-7:30pm at the Arendtsville Boro Building beginning on November 12. Any questions, please contact Head Coach Anna Charnigo at 717-515-6843. If you'd like to sign up, please use the link in the article below!

ATHLETES, COACHES, & TEAM VOLUNTEERS: You are running out of time to sign up for BOWLING and/or FLOORBALL! You must be signed up by Oct. 15. Use these links to GET SIGNED UP if you have not already done so! (Please don't sign up again if you already signed up because then we need to get the regional office to delete duplicates.)

• Link to sign up for BOWLING at Edgewood in Gettysburg (Sundays @ 1:00pm)
• Link to sign up for BOWLING at South Hanover Lanes (Sundays @ 1:00pm)
• Link to sign up for FLOORBALL in Arendtsville (Thursdays @ 6:00pm)

NOTE: You must be registered as a Class A Volunteer before becoming a certified coach. Reach out to Jill at jstoner@specialolympicspa.org for more information about how to become a Class A Volunteer.

Upcoming Trainings:

BOWLING - VIRTUAL training Wednesday, Oct. 28, 6:00-8:30pm

BOWLING - VIRTUAL training Saturday, Nov. 7, 9-11:30am

FLOORBALL - IN PERSON TRAINING at Susquenita High School, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2:30-4:30pm

DID YOU KNOW? We MUST have a sport-certified coach at every practice (at least 1 for every 25 athletes) and every competition. It's helpful to have numerous volunteers certified as coaches for each sport so that they can fill-in if the head coach needs to miss a practice or competition. Otherwise, the practice/competition would have to be cancelled. Also, for competitions, we need to have a certified coach for each team as well as a certified coach for the skills participants.

If interested, login to your volunteer Portal Account:

• Click "Event Sign-Up"

• Select "Sports Training School Registration 2026"

• Choose the training you'd like to attend

A tradition with Team Adams is to select an "Athlete of the Sport" at the end of each season. The criteria for this award is good sportsmanship, great effort, and regular attendance throughout the season. The recipient is selected by the coaches.

Congratulations to Mah'Kael Lee-Wright for being chosen as our 2026 Athlete of the Sport for bocce! He always has a smile on his face, a positive attitude, and a willingness to follow instructions. Mah'Kael is respectful to coaches, volunteers, and his teammates. We look forward to seeing what he will accomplish in the future! Way to go, Mah'Kael!

The Adams County Community Foundation Giving Spree is just one month away! We are honored to be participating for the 16th straight year! This has become one of our biggest fundraisers of the year and we count on it to help fund our program in many ways!

There are 3 ways to make a donation:

• Mail it in (mail it NOW to ensure it arrives by Nov. 5) (donation form)
• Drop it off! Nov. 5 @ Wyndham Gettysburg 3–7pm
• Give Online! Nov. 5, 12:00 a.m.–11:59 p.m. via ACCFGiving Spree.org

BE SURE TO MARK YOUR DONATION FOR "#094 SPECIAL OLYMPICS PA TEAM ADAMS"

We hope you'll consider stopping by our booth at the Wyndham Gettysburg on Nov. 5 between 3-7 pm! We'd love to share more about our program with you and we are always looking for new athletes and volunteers! Thank you for your continued support!

Each season, teams have the opportunity to compete at a sectional competition to try to qualify for the state competiton. Athletes who win a gold medal at sectionals get first priority for states. If there are additional slots available, athletes who win a silver medal go into a random drawing. If there are still additional slots available after that, then the bronze winners go into a random drawing. For the Fall season, sectionals are a one-day competition at Juniata College. This was held on September 27 and the results are below!

For the Fall season, the state competition is called "Fall Fest" and it's a 3-day competition at Villanova University. As you can imagine, our athletes are very competitive and they get super excited when they qualify for Villanova! Continue reading to find out how each of our fall sports did at sectionals on September 27 and who qualified for states which will be held on November 13-15.

Although Special Olympics is a competitive sports program and we always play to win, it's important to remember that winning isn't everything! We are most proud of our athletes who give their absolute best effort and demonstrate great sportmanship towards others whether they win a gold medal or not!

For the first time ever, Team Adams sent THREE volleyball teams to sectionals! The "Adams Lightning" is a traditional team that competed in the age group 22+. They finished with a silver medal and qualified for states! We also have the "Adams Storm", which is another traditional team that competed in the age group 22+. They earned a bronze medal and will be an alternate for states, which means that if another team that qualified is unable to attend, then Adams Storm will go.

"Adams Thunder" is a unified player developmental team and they earned a bronze medal. Thank you to volunteers Anna Charniga, Robert Monn, and Kiera Rebert for playing as "unified partners" and helping Adams Thunder to advance to states!

Finally, Avery Sponseller competed in the volleyball skills competition and brought home a gold medal. This was the first year that Avery competed at sectionals for volleyball! She also qualified for states!

Everyone will be in action once again at the Hershey Fall Classic on Oct. 11!

Our numbers may be small, but they are mighty! Our 3 powerlifters at sectionals were Amaree Brown, Eli Claypoole, and Alex Gouker. Each athlete competed in the back squat, deadlift, and bench press. They also earned a medal for their overall score for the 3 events added together. This awesome group of athletes combined to bring 6 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze medal home to Adams County! All three athletes qualified for states!

Team Adams athletes and their families/friends have been invited to attend the Gettysburg College Women’s SOCCER game and cheer them on from the stands. This is their senior day, so we won’t receive any special recognition at this game. The soccer team has been volunteering with our Long Distance Running/Walking athletes. Let's go cheer them on! Wear your Team Adams clothing if you have any!

Team Adams athletes and their families/friends have been invited to attend the Gettysburg College Women’s FIELD HOCKEY game and cheer them on from the stands as they take on Muhlenberg! We will receive t-shirts at the game and our athletes will go out on the field with the team at the beginning of the game for the National Anthem. We will also be recognized out on the field during half time. So let's bring the crowd and some energy! The game will be played on Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium at 6pm. Please arrive by 5:30.

Please RSVP to Jill at 717-357-4790 if you plan to attend either game!

The Gettysburg Adams Kiwanis Club recently held their Annual Meeting and Community Giving Event. We were honored to be invited and grateful that our Outreach Coordinator, Sherrie Wivell, and her daughter, Avery Sponseller, who is also one of our athletes, were able to attend. They enjoyed a nice dinner and had the opportunity to briefly share information about our organization before receiving a generous donation of $1,000! We thank the Gettysburg Adams Kiwanis Club for choosing to support Team Adams with a donation the past several years! Their club of only 12 volunteers donated more than $10,000 to 13 organizations supporting the youth of Adams County! THANK YOU, Kiwanis Club!

Updated with BOWLING and FLOORBALL practice information!

Oct. 5 - Bocce Local Competition (Bourbon Mill, New Oxford)

Oct. 10 - Team Adams Day at Gettysburg College Soccer Game (1pm)

Oct. 11 - Hershey Fall Classic (Hershey High School, Hershey)

Oct. 12 - Bocce Fun Night (Bourbon Mill, New Oxford)

Oct. 15 - DEADLINE TO SIGN UP FOR WINTER SPORTS

Oct. 17 - Team Adams Night at Gettysburg College Field Hockey Game (6pm)

Oct. 21 - Local Roller Skating Competition (Magic Elm Skateland)

Oct. 25 - Regional Roller Skating Competition (Magic Elm Skateland, Hanover)

Nov. 5 - Giving Spree (Wyndham Gettysburg 3-7pm)

Nov. 13-15 - Fall Fest (Villanova University)

Dec. 12 - Team Adams Holiday Party (New Oxford Social Club Pavilion)

Team Adams Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/specialolympicspennsylvaniaadamscounty

Team Adams Website: https://sites.google.com/view/sopateamadams/home

Capital Area Region Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalarearegion

SOPA Facebook: https://portals.specialolympics.org/

SOPA Website: https://specialolympicspa.org/

SOPA Online Portal: https://portals.specialolympics.org/

Volunteer Questions: Linda Long, volunteersoac@gmail.com or 717-226-0739

New Athlete Questions/Portal Help: Jill Stoner, jstoner@specialolympicspa.org or 717-614-8047

Program Questions: Joy Weikert, adamsteamleader@gmail.com or 717-398-7657

Mailing Address:

Special Olympics PA Team Adams

PO Box 3

Bendersville, PA 17306

The Mission of Special Olympics is to provide year round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.