Now’s the Time to Prepare for Program’s Busiest Season

The fall sports season continues to be one of Special Olympics Kentucky busiest times of year in terms of number of athletes competing and competition options. Now is the time to make sure your athlete, or maybe a potential new athlete you know, is signed up to compete this fall.

Our fall sports season includes bowling, which is our most popular individual sport and a sport in which many athletes first compete in Special Olympics, equestrian, flag football and artistic gymnastics. All four sports will begin practices as early as August in some areas.

Bowling

Bowling continues to be our most popular sports and a tremendous entry point to Special Olympics competition. Before the State Bowling Tournament outgrew every bowling facility in the state and area bowling tournaments serving as qualifiers to go to State, the State Bowling Tournament was our largest single-sport event and rivaled the State Summer Games for total number of competitors. The bowling season consists of several weeks of local practice that lead up to Area Bowling Tournaments that are held throughout the state. All bowlers who record and report at least 10 practice game scores qualify to compete in their Area Bowling Tournament. For the second year, those area tournaments take on added emphasis this year as bowlers must win at least a silver medal in their area tournament division in order to qualify to compete in the State Tournament.

2024 Bowling Schedule
Oct. 12-13 – Area 4 Bowling Tournament; King Pin Lanes, Louisville
Oct. 19-20 – Area 1 Bowling Tournament; Cardinal Lanes, Paducah
Oct. 26–Area 2 Bowling Tournament; Diamond Lanes South, Owensboro
Oct. 21–Area 5 Bowling Tournament; Southern Lanes, Bowling Green
TBA – Area 3&9 Bowling Tournament; Bowl Rite, Prestonsburg
TBA – Area 6 Bowling Tournament; Galaxy Bowl, Richmond
TBA–Area 7 Bowling Tournament; Super Bowl Bellewood, Newport
TBA – Area 8 Bowling Tournament; Southland Lanes, Lexington

Equestrian

The 2024 State Equestrian Competition will once again be the first state-level event of the fall sports season. This year’s event will be held on Sunday, Sept. 28, at the Shelby County Fairgrounds in Shelbyville. It’s the fourth year in a row that the Fairgrounds have hosted the event. Athletes from riding programs across the state will gather to show off their abilities in categories including dressage, western equitation, English equitation, working trails and showmanship. Athletes access the State Equestrian Competition by training at a participating therapeutic riding program.

Flag Football

Flag Football has been the fastest growing team sport offering for many years. The flag football season consists of three regional tournaments that lead up to the State Flag Football Tournament that will be held in November at Tates Creek High School in Lexington.

2024 Flag Football Schedule
TBA – Louisville Regional Flag Football Tournament; St. Xavier High School, Louisville
TBA – Western Kentucky Regional Flag Football Tournament; Marshall or  McCracken County High School
TBA – Northern Kentucky Regional Flag Football Tournament; Thomas More University, Crestview Hills
TBA – State Flag Football Tournament; Tates Creek High School, Lexington

Artistic Gymnastics

Kentucky’s gymnastics program has a long proud history of producing World and USA Games champions. Dreams of being the next to claim World and USA gold begin at our annual State Artistic Gymnastics Competition. The event will tentatively be held Sunday, Nov. 12, at Legacy All-Sports in Lexington. The event brings together between 25 and 30 gymnasts from several adaptive programs throughout the state.

For more information about bowling, gymnastics or equestrian, please contact Kathy Marshall at [email protected]. For more information about flag football, contact Chris Oldham at [email protected]. You can reach either at 502-695-8222.

For volunteer opportunities, contact Michaele Roy at mroysoky.org or 502-695-8222.