Let the Games Begin

Save the date, May 21, 2022. The Long Island Region of Special Olympics New York is planning its Spring Games North after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Farmingdale Athletic Complex at Howitt Middle School is set to host the competition.

“We are incredibly excited for the return of Spring Games, not only for the competition but also to be coming home to Farmingdale schools,” said Stacey Hengsterman, President and CEO of Special Olympics New York. “On behalf of the hundreds of athletes who will participate in Spring Games, thank you to Superintendent Defendini as well as the district faculty, coaches, and community volunteers who are making it possible.”

The Spring Games anticipate having over 500 athletes, 150 coaches, and hundreds of spectators and volunteers. Howitt Middle School will host events such as track and field and power-lifting. The brand new Aquatic Center at Howitt Middle School will host swimming events. The district is looking at potential locations to hold the tennis portion of the competition.

“You can see a wide array of athleticism that is going to be there from highly-skilled and highly-competitive athletes who can do incredible athletic feats,” said Farmingdale Superintendent Paul Defendini. “That athleticism gives me so much pride. We value our Special Education program in Farmingdale, and we respect the growth of our students at all levels. This is not only a great opportunity for us to get behind our students in that capacity, but it gives us pride in this complex that will be able to handle an event of this size.”

Farmingdale School District will begin to reach out to those in the community to help take part in this event, which will be held on May 21, 2022. Those interested can help in three ways. First will be through the volunteer effort of getting the facility ready leading up to the event and then helping clean up and get the facility back to normal. Second, the district will rely on local vendors to help establish the Olympic Village. Specifically, the district will be looking for vendors to provide games and workshops for people to participate in. Third, the Special Olympics will be looking for donations to help get the event running.

“This is a massive volunteer effort,” said Defendini. “We’re going to need a tremendous amount of volunteers to get this event off the ground. Farmingdale is a great place for that. We’re the kind of community when help is needed - help is there.”

For more information about the Farmingdale Union Free School District, please visit the district’s website at https://www.farmingdaleschools... and like our Facebook page: @FarmingdaleSchoolDistrict.