Team Leaves from Louisville for Minneapolis on June 19

We are now just days away from the start of the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games and Team Kentucky is READY TO GO!!!

The 67 members of the Team Kentucky delegation will gather before the USA Games on Thursday, June 18, at the Courtyard by Marriott on Phillips Lane in Louisville. The pre-travel team dinner will be provided by our friends from Jersey Mike’s.

It will be an early morning for Team Kentucky on Friday, June 19, as the team will leave the hotel at around 4:30 am for a 7:25 am flight to Minneapolis. Once in Minnesota, the team will settle into the dorms and likely explore the campus for the athletes to get their bearings before the Games get underway.

The trip to the Games will be unique for Team Kentucky as it will be the first time that the entire delegation has traveled together to and from the Games. For the first Games in 2006, Kentucky participated in the Citation Airlift with the team split into five donated private jets. For each of the next four Games, Team Kentucky split into two travel groups on the way to and from the Games.

Action gets underway in Minneapolis at 6:30 pm (CT) on Saturday, June 20, with what promises to be an exciting Opening Ceremony at Huntington Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota Campus. The two-and-a-half-hour event will include performances by Jon Batiste and Demi Lovato.

Sunday will be a practice and divisioning day before competition begins on Monday, June 22.

You can follow Team Kentucky at the Games right here at soky.org/teamkentucky or on any of our social media channels. You can also download the USA Games app and follow the team there. In addition, ESPN will stream select events from the Games via their mobile and television apps.

Want great Team Kentucky gear to wear during the Games to show your support? Visit the Team Kentucky Sideline store. Most items ship in two business days and Team Kentucky receives 10% of all sales.

For more information about the Team Kentucky departure, or about the USA Games, contact Mark Buerger at 502-695-8222 or mbuerger@soky.org.