Henry County Special Olympics Team takes Gold and Bronze | News

Last month Henry County’s Special Olympics Team took part in the Special Olympics 2012 Winter Games, earning several medals in the weekend long competition.

More than 78 athletes and partners traveled to Cobb County to compete in Georgia’s annual Special Olympics Winter Games.  Henry County athletes competed in floor hockey, team skills basketball, individual basketball skills, traditional basketball and unified basketball. The team also had Special Olympic Cheerleaders that helped to cheer them on to victory.

According to Terry Nash, Therapeutic Recreation Coordinator, the Henry County athletes won a gold medal in Unified Basketball, a bronze medal in floor hockey, earned fourth place in traditional basketball, and two Henry County teams placed third and fourth in team skills basketball. Several individual athletes also won medals in various competitions.

“After eight weeks of competing, our athletes went to Cobb County and represented Henry County very well,” said Nash. “We’re very proud.”

Nash said that the Special Olympics’ success is due in part to the outstanding volunteers and the effort and time they put into the program.

“We have several long-standing volunteers as well as some new faces, and we couldn’t do it without their help and support,” she said.

With the Winter Olympics behind them, next on the agenda for these athletes is the Southeast Skiing Competition, to be held in Boone, NC this weekend, and then the athletes begin training for the Summer Olympics to be held in May.

The Henry County Special Olympics team is part of the County’s Therapeutic Recreation Division. For more information on Henry County Parks and Recreation’s Therapeutic Division, visit www.hcprd.org.