Special Olympics Georgia State Indoor Winter Games return to Cobb County for 2016
ATLANTA – January 14, 2016 – In what is becoming a tradition for both Special Olympics Georgia and Cobb County, the 2016 Special Olympics Georgia State Indoor Winter Games return to Cobb County for competition the weekend of Jan. 22-24. This will mark the 24th consecutive year that the State Indoor Winter Games have been held in the Marietta and Cobb County area.
An estimated 2,100 athletes and 200 unified partners will compete in the following events: basketball, bowling, floor hockey, gymnastics and roller skating. In addition, the Southeast Powerlifting competition will also be held at the Marriott Hotel, featuring additional athletes from Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. The Games are free and open to the public.
“Special Olympics Georgia is excited to host the Indoor Winter Games all over Cobb County for the 24th year in a row,” said Special Olympics Georgia CEO Georgia Milton-Sheats. “We will have a record number of athletes, coaches, families and volunteers joining at the Games. We hope people will come out to be ‘A Fan in the Stands’ and watch some high level competition and have fun.
“Log on to our website at www.specialolympicsga.org to find out more about our organization and the athletes.”
The Games’ Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday, Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at McEachern High School in Powder Springs. Area radio personality Moby will serve as the Master of Ceremonies, while the Opening Ceremony Grand Marshal is former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Buddy Curry.
Competitions will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various locations. The venues include: Sparkles (roller skating), Cobb Gymnastics Center (gymnastics), Marietta Middle School (floor hockey), Ron Anderson Recreation Center and McEachern High School (traditional team basketball), Smyrna Community Center (unified team basketball), Windy Hill Athletic Club (3-on-3 basketball), Fair Oaks Community Center (basketball individual skills), Lawrence Street Recreation Center, the Salvation Army and Ward Recreation Center (basketball team skills) and Brunswick Zone and Marietta AMF Lanes (bowling). The Olympic Town festivities and Healthy Athletes program will be held Saturday, Jan. 23 at Marietta Middle School.
About Special Olympics Georgia SOGA provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for 26,702 children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendships with their families, other Special Olympic athletes and the community. For more information, visit www.specialolympicsga.org.
