Team Kentucky Set to Depart for USA Games
Team Will Fly Out of Northern Kentucky June 30
Team Kentucky will take its final steps on the Road to the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games when they depart from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Saturday, June 30.
Team Kentucky features 45 athletes and 18 coaches who will compete in eight sports at the USA Games, which will be held July 1-6 in Seattle, Washington. Kentucky athletes hail from Bowling Green, Carrollton, Carter County, Elizabethtown, Georgetown, Glasgow, Lexington, Louisville, Northern Kentucky, Murray, Ohio County and Owensboro.
The team will gather on Thursday, June 29, at the Cincinnati Airport Marriott on Progress Lane in Hebron. Team Kentucky will spend the night there before departing in two groups on Saturday. The first group, which will include swimmers, bowlers, gymnasts, the flag football team and coaching support staff will leave the hotel at 6 am. The remaining athletes and coaches, including bocce, golf and track and field athletes, the Team Kentucky basketball team and a pair of Calloway County High School students who will be participating in the Youth Leadership Experience at the USA Games, will leave the hotel at 11 am to make the trip.
The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games will bring together 4,000 athletes and 1,000 coaches from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Games will feature 14 sports as well as many cultural and social activities for the athletes. There will also be opportunities to receive free health screenings at the Healthy Athletes venue and a chance to spend time at Olympic Town, an interactive festival-style area. The official Games Web site is specialolympicsusagames.org. These are the fourth USA Games that Special Olympics has held. Previous games were held in 2006 in Ames, Iowa; 2010 in Lincoln, Neb.; and 2014 in northern New Jersey.
Kentucky has had tremendous success at the USA National Games. In 2014, 48 Team Kentucky athletes combined to win 36 medals including 18 gold. The 2010 Team Kentucky group consisted of 39 athletes and claimed 34 medals, including 10 Golds. The 2006 National Games team saw 42 athletes capture 42 medals, including 18 Golds.
For more information about Team Kentucky or the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games, contact Special Olympics Kentucky Senior Director of Field and Athlete Services and Team Kentucky Head of Delegation Kim Satterwhite at 502-695-8222 or via e-mail at [email protected].