2024 Summer Games at TCNJ
On Friday, June 7, through Sunday, June 9, the 2024 Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games took place at the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in Ewing, NJ. Almost 2,000 Special Olympics New Jersey athletes, along with thousands of spectators and volunteers gathered together to kick off an incredible weekend at the Opening Ceremony on Friday night.
There was an energetic athlete parade where families, friends, law enforcement, and fellow teammates cheered on each Area as they entered the stadium and took their spots on the field.
Throughout the 3-day event, athletes competed in seven different sports, including Athletics (Track & Field), Bocce, Gymnastics, Powerlifting, Softball, Swimming, and Tennis. Competition venues consisted of Armstrong Memorial Park, Schafer Sports Center, and various locations across TCNJ’s campus.
The months of training, hard work, and determination finally paid off for the athletes competing in this year’s Summer Games. Thousands of medals were given out and countless memories were made. Complete results and photos from the weekend may be found at the following links:
41st Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run
Prior to the start of the annual games, Special Olympics New Jersey kicked off the weekend with the 41st Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run. Every year, New Jersey law enforcement officers exchange their uniforms for running gear as they carry the “Flame of Hope” throughout the state into the Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games Opening Ceremony. Over 3,000 officers participated from over 400 police departments covering over 750 miles across the Garden State!
The annual Torch Run will raise over $500,000 by the end of the year and not only provides funds but gives the law enforcement community a chance to show their support and admiration of our athletes. What an exciting way to jump into the biggest competition event of the season!
SONJ’s new Mobile Health RV revealed
Thanks to Mission Mobile Medical out of North Carolina our new 33’ 2020 Jayco RV has been totally retrofitted to meet the needs of a mobile health vehicle and was revealed at Summer Games. This RV will be utilized around the state to provide health and fitness screenings for our athletes and Unified partners, education, and bring awareness to children and adults with intellectual disabilities and healthcare professionals working with our population. Learn more here from our Instagram video.
Olympic Village at Trenton Hall Lawn
Saturday, June 8 was jam-packed with competition events and activities for the whole family, not just the participating athletes. Spectators happily cruised around Olympic Village at Trenton Hall Lawn, where a few dozen Year-Round Partners offered games, giveaways, and chances to win awesome prizes.
SONJ Souvenir Tent
Not to mention, the SONJ Souvenir tent was a hot spot during the event where everyone stopped by to check out the latest SONJ swag! All of our new seasonal t-shirts were SOLD OUT before the weekend was over. Don’t worry, we will try to bring back a few more of them for our Fall season.
ShopRite provided FREE lunches
ShopRite, a proud partner of Special Olympics New Jersey for the last 32 years, provided FREE lunches, treats and cold waters all weekend to everyone attending Summer Games. Over 17,500 lunches were distributed!
Young Athletes
At Summer Games, the smallest members of our community learned basics like balance, running, throwing, and kicking, in addition to running the 25-meter Future Stars Race; all while making new friends and having fun! Over the course of 2 days, SONJ had a total of 114 Young Athletes participate.
Healthy Athletes at the Brower Student Center
SONJ also offered FREE health exams and services to ALL athletes throughout the weekend at the newly renovated Brower Student Center in the following 8 disciplines: Baseline Concussion Assessments, Fit Feet, FUNfitness, Health Promotion, Healthy Hearing, Opening Eyes, Special Smiles, and Strong Minds. Fun fact – This was the 3rd time SONJ hosted 8 Healthy Athletes disciplines at an event.
We are thrilled to report that over the weekend, we completed a total of 2,101 screenings, surpassing last year’s 2,044 screenings!
The Brower Student Center was bustling with activity across eight different health disciplines all weekend long. Our goal was to encourage athletes to participate in as many Healthy Athletes disciplines as possible, and we achieved this with outstanding results:
- Baseline Concussion Assessment: 240 screenings
- Fit Feet: 441 screenings
- OOFOS – 382 pairs of shoes provided
- FUNfitness: 195 screenings
- Healthy Hearing: 246 screenings
- Health Promotion: 251 screenings
- Strong Minds: 153 screenings
- Special Smiles: 255 screenings
- Opening Eyes: 320 screenings
- Total pair of eyewear provided to athletes: 434
- In total, 718 unique athletes were screened at Summer Games.
After each Healthy Athlete screening, athletes received a free giveaway specific to that discipline, and were also offered a chance to enter into a free drawing to win bigger ticket items! Prizes included tickets to local sporting events, Taylor Swift memorabilia, and much more!
But wait, grab your tissues for this one:
One of our athletes attended a vision screening at Opening Eyes for the first time. It was discovered that he had significant vision issues that had gone undiagnosed, his family had always been told he was blind. After an hour going through each of the stations with our patient doctors, it was found that he in fact was not blind. He had just never been with a group that was so patient and thorough. Thanks to the Healthy Athletes program, this young man received the corrective lenses he needed. The joy on his face as he saw the world clearly for the first time was indescribable. This transformation was made possible because of our generous supporters.
Last but not least…our AMAZING Volunteers
We were so lucky to have thousands of volunteers help with our 2024 Summer Games! Thank you to everyone who cam out to support this amazing event!
We had a wonderful time volunteering and assisting in any way we could. We were assigned to the track awards. My son and his friend helped escort the athletes to seats to soon be called for their medals. I was one of the lucky ones that got to help the athletes line up, walk to the podium, and receive their medals. Overall, we loved our experience and are looking forward to the next opportunity!
– Lindsay M. from Facebook
The 2024 Summer Games was an unforgettable weekend! Special Olympics New Jersey thanks everyone who competed, volunteered, sponsored, donated, and cheered on our athletes at this year’s event! We couldn’t have done it without YOU!
it wont let me sign up for the snow bowl
Hello Sarah,
The registration is open, have you tried this link?
Thank you & have a wonderful day!