Program Celebrates 30 Years at Eastern Kentucky University

More than 1,100 athletes from across Kentucky are set to head to Richmond to Celebrate 30 Years at Eastern Kentucky University at the 2025 State Summer Games June 6-8.

For the third straight year, the Games are trimmed down to just four sports. The Brad Harkleroad Memorial State Swim Meet will continue as a stand-alone event after construction in the Alumni Coliseum facility that included EKU’s indoor pool.

Summer Games activities get underway early on June 6 at the Frankfort Police Department with the opening of the Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg  at 9 am. The Final Leg group will light the Special Olympics Torch, followed by a short run through downtown Frankfort. Final Leg participants will then carry the torch to Richmond for the Summer Games Opening Ceremonies. Other stops along the Final Leg include Stewart Home and School in Frankfort at 10:30 am, which will include a ceremony with Stewart Home residents. The next stop will be a ceremony at the Nicholasville Police Department at 12:30 pm followed by a short run. The torch then moves to Lexington for a run from the Old Morrison Building at Transylvania University in Lexington to the Old Fayette County Courthouse that begins at 2:15 pm, and after a ceremony at the courthouse, officers will run to the Wildcat statue at the University of Kentucky. Finally, the Final Leg will leave the Richmond Police Department at 3:45 and run into the EKU Campus. That leg will include a short parade from First Christian Church on Main Street in Richmond to the EKU campus which will include Special Olympics athletes. The Final Leg participants will also bring the torch into the Opening Ceremonies.

Opening Ceremonies for the Games will begin at 6 pm on June 6 in The Ravine near the center of the EKU campus (weather permitting). The Ceremonies will include the introduction of athletes and the lighting of the Special Olympics cauldron presented by Whitaker Bank.

Competition will begin Friday night immediately following the Opening Ceremonies. The Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Track will host the distance races and relays beginning at approximately 7:30 pm on June 6. There will also be several heats of the softball throw competition held at Turkey Hughes Baseball Field on Friday night, as well as the start of the Unified bocce competition on the EKU intramural fields.

Competition continues for all sports on Saturday beginning between 8 and 9 am. Soccer will take place on the Model Soccer Field near the back of campus. Rhythmic gymnastics will return to EKU’s Student Recreation Center where it has been held for the past two years.

Olympic Town and Healthy Athletes also return to their 2024 homes. Both will be open from 9 am until 2 pm. Olympic Town will be located in the Powell Plaza near the Powell Building and the Games Operations Center and the Healthy Athletes Village. As always, Olympic Town will include music, dancing, games and snacks. This year Healthy Athletes disciplines will include Opening Eyes, Special Smiles, Healthy Hearing, Fit Feet, Fun Fitness, Strong Minds and Health Promotion.

More than 600 volunteers are needed to make sure the State Summer Games operate smoothly. If you or your organization are interested in volunteering at the games, contact Volunteer Coordinator Michaele Roy at 502-695-8222 or mroy@soky.org.

This year, longtime Summer Games Platinum Sponsor Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives – already the Games’ largest sponsor, has expanded its support of the Summer Games. The sponsorship increase will result in greater visibility throughout the Games for Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy, including a full sponsorship of the Track and Field venue. Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy has played a vital role at the track throughout their 13-year association with the Games, including managing the entire awards process for all track and most field events. In addition, Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy has signed on as the official water sponsor for the year for Special Olympics Kentucky. In that role they will provide all of the bottled water for volunteers and each athlete, coach and volunteer lunch will have a bottle of water provided by Touchstone.

This will be the 11th year that Chick-fil-A Central Kentucky stores are the Official Lunch Sponsor of the Games and will be teaming up to provide all lunches for athletes, coaches and volunteers on Saturday.

For information about the 2025 Special Olympics Kentucky State Summer Games, contact Special Olympics Kentucky Senior Director of Sports and Competition  Holly Vincent at 502-695-8222 or via e-mail at hvincent@soky.org.

See Photos from the 2024 State Summer Games

The 2025 Special Olympics Kentucky State Summer Games are made possible through the generosity of platinum sponsor Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, Special Olympics Kentucky year-round partners Jersey Mike’s, Texas Roadhouse and Toyota; Official Lunch Sponsor Chick-fil-A; Gold Sponsors amentum, Eastern Kentucky University, the Knights of Columbus and Walmart; Silver Sponsors Dever Golf Cars, Lockheed Martin, Richmond Tourism and Southland Dairy Farmers; Bronze Sponsors the City of Richmond, Eastside Community Church, EKU Catering, Greentree Forest Products, LBX Company, Penske Truck Rental, RCS Communication, UNITS Portable Moving and Storage, Waste Connections and Whitaker Bank.

2025 Summer Games Schedule

Friday, June 6 9:00 am Law Enforcement Torch Run Final Leg lighting ceremony; Frankfort Police Department, Frankfort 6:00 pm Opening Ceremonies The Ravine, EKU 7:00 pm Track/Shot Put Competitions Begin Tom Samuels Track, EKUSoftball Throw  Competition Begins Turkey Hughes Baseball Field Bocce Competition Begins Front Intramural Fields Saturday, June 7 8:00 am Competition Begins Bocce – Front Intramural Fields Rhythmic Gymnastics – Student Recreation Center Soccer – Model Soccer Field/Back Intramural Fields Softball Throw – Turkey Hughes Baseball Field Track & Field – Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Track 9:00 am – 2:00 pm Olympic Town Open Powell Plaza Healthy Athletes Open Powell Building -2nd Floor 7:30 – 9:30 pm Closing Ceremonies/Dance Powell Plaza