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Team Delaware heads to Seattle for Special Olympics USA Games

Delaware Public Media
Team Delaware is heading to Seattle this weekend for the 20-18 Special Olympics USA Games.

Team Delaware is heading to Seattle Saturday for the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games.

Team Delaware joins thousands of Special Olympics athletes and coaches from across the nation for the USA Games Sunday, July 1st through Friday, July 6th.

And Special Olympics Delaware spokesman Jon Buzby says they will have plenty of company for the week’s worth of competition in 14 team and individual sports, as well as other special events.

“There’s going to be 3,000 athletes, 1,000 coaches, 10,000 volunteers and they’re expecting a crowd in excess of 60,000 people throughout the week - it’s the USA Games for Special Olympics Delaware. All 50 states, including some countries from the Caribbean, will be there to compete; something they do every four years - the year before a World Games, which will be in 2019,” Buzby said.

 

And Buzby adds the athletes are ecstatic about heading to the West Coast for the Games.

“We’ve got an athlete who has never been away from home. We’ve got an athlete who has never been on a plane. And we’ve got some other athletes who of course have never been on the West Coast. And so for them it just really is a neat opportunity. When you talk to them when they get back, they’ll of course talk about the gold medals, the silver medals, all the other stuff them happened to them while they were out there,” said Buzby.

 
Buzby says the USA Games start with the Opening Ceremony on Sunday which features the Parade of Athletes at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium.

And for the very first time, ABC is broadcasting the Opening Ceremony live starting at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday.

 

You can get more information about the USA Games here.

 

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.
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