Special Olympics Celebrates 50th Anniversary At Jesuit High School

Tampa FL

31 March, 2022

11:36 AM

Description

TAMPA, FL — In 1972, Jesuit High School and the Jesuit Dads' Club hosted the first-ever Special Olympics competition in Florida. On Saturday, March 26, hundreds of athletes and volunteers were on hand at Jesuit for the 50th anniversary event, as the Dads' Club once again hosted the annual Hillsborough & Pinellas Special Olympics. Led by Grand Marshal Titus O'Neil, global ambassador of the WWE, Jesuit's Corral Memorial Stadium and other locations on campus, along with nearby Hillsborough Community College (volleyball), hosted the athletic competition featuring 500 Special Olympics athletes. Former Jesuit teacher and coach Dan Bonilla was one of several organizers of that first SpecialOlympics 50 years ago. He was on hand Saturday as the athletes competed in cycling, track andfield, bocce, cheerleading, soccer and volleyball. The ceremonies included a Tampa Police Department flyover, and the Olympic Village featured a dunk tank, dance floor and interactive games. The school ramped up for the Special Olympics last week when Special Olympics athlete and Global Ambassador Thomas Shervington spoke to the Jesuit student body about the extraordinary impact the Special Olympics has made on his life. For decades, the Dads' Club and Jesuit students have been a driving force in the success of the Special Olympics in Tampa, working year-round with Special Olympics Florida and Hillsborough County to stage this major event. Jesuit's connection to the Special Olympics dates back to its origins in Florida, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Gov. Reubin Askew and Tampa Mayor Dick Greco came to Jesuit to light the Olympic Torch as the school hosted Florida's first Special Olympics competition. Jesuit High School Founded in the 1960s, Special Olympics Inc. is the world's largest provider of fitness training,education and athletic competition — coupled with social, life and leadership skill developmentopportunities — for children and adults with intellectual disabilities or similar disabilities.