2025 Fall Games Recap

November 4, 2025November 4, 2025 Category: Events and Competitions Posted by mcatini

An unseasonably warm weekend set the tone for a successful Special Olympics New Jersey (SONJ) Fall Games and Unified Cups. Over 1,100 athletes and Unified Partners competed in soccer, flag football, cycling, golf, and equestrian. Healthy Athletes performance stations and two separate Young Athletes sessions rounded out the fall season.

The action was spread out over three days, with Unified Cup Soccer high schools and college on Friday and Sunday respectively, bookending the Fall Games which were held on Saturday. Technically there were a lot more days to all this, since the equestrian competition was held remotely. If this all sounds like a lot, it’s because it is! So let’s take a step back and look at the sports individually.

Equestrian
During a period of about three weeks, some 70 riders competed remotely at their home stables in events like equitation, dressage, obstacles, and in-hand. Then they had to submit videos of their performance to judges, who scored them on October 11 & 12.

Some of the riders attended the medal ceremonies at Mercer County Park during Fall Games, and those who were unable to attend received their medals later in the mail. Shortly thereafter, a virtual awards ceremony on Zoom was the culminating end of another successful season.

Golf
More than 170 athletes and Unified Partners played at the beautiful Mountain View Golf Course in Ewing. Competition was spirited, putts were on target, and drives were straight. One particular drive was extra straight and very much on target: Unified Partner Fred Feliciano achieved the rare feat of a hole-in-one!

Soccer
Eight fields at Mercer County Park were the canvas for 52 teams in 12 different divisions. Athletes delighted the many spectators with deep passes, brilliant saves, and spirited dribbling. Supporters showed up with self-made signs and cheered on their favorites, and on some fields the timekeepers showed impressive skills as play-by-play commentators. The winning teams earned bragging rights until next year, and all participants left with smiles and fond memories.

Cycling
Where do you find a track that’s circular and undulating, making it perfect for staging a cycling competition? If you said Skillman Park, then you are correct. 95 athletes on two and three-wheeled cycles met there to compete in distances from 250m to 10km, aggregating a total of almost 450km raced! And this is without counting all the laps the volunteer cyclists completed while escorting athletes on their races. The unique track layout not only allows for supporters to see every finish, but it also positions them ideally between the finish line and the awards podiums. Cheering and celebrating from one spot!

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Flag Football
There can only be on reason for teams to huddle up despite the warm weather: Flag Football! 10 teams in 3 divisions caught balls and ran with them, following predetermined routes or adapting and improvising. The number of pulled flags probably exceeded the number of touchdowns scored, but the count for high fives definitely tops them all by a thousand times. Or so it felt. 

Unified Cup Soccer
To accommodate more teams, the Unified Cup Soccer competition was held on two separate days, both at Mercer County Park. On Friday, 14 high school teams competed, followed by 11 college teams on Sunday, for a total of 298 athletes and Unified Partners. Athletes and Unified Partners not only connected passes, but they also changed the game by building friendships and impacting change.

Healthy Athletes
A highly impactful part of SONJ’s mission is to provide health education and wellness resources to everyone competing in Special Olympics. At Fall Games, about 300 athletes made great use of their downtime between matches and visited the performance stations. There they learned about healthy nutrition and hydration, how to improve their footwork, and the importance of stretching. 16 athletes dedicated their time for concussion baseline assessments, which was held in the SONJ Mobile Health Vehicle.  

Young Athletes
Over two separate sessions, 45 Young Athletes tried out new activities and sports. Activity stations for both sessions included obstacle courses, balance bike rides, soccer and flag football skills, plus mini golf. All stations were led by general volunteers, Young Athletes coaches and committee members. Measured by smiles and laughter it is safe to say that it was a great success, not only for the athletes, but also for their parents.

Volunteers
It is impossible to overstate the importance and impact our amazing volunteers make at every single SONJ event. We would not be able to reach and serve so many athletes without them! On top of all volunteer coaches, we had about 210 event volunteers, plus committee members, Law Enforcement representatives, medical staff, and volunteer photographers. As the volunteer shirts said loud and clear: “Athletes are why. Volunteers are how.” Thank you!

The short version of this long post: The 2025 Fall Games can be considered a huge success for athletes, Unified Partners, volunteers, families, and staff. It was great to see familiar and new faces on the fields and courses, and to support athletes while they put hours of training and preparation on display. Now on to winter season!