The Special Olympics will be held for the first time on campus April 25-26.

“Events for the meet will take place in the Lovejoy High School stadium,” organizer of Athlete’s Village Brendan King said. “1,300 special olympian athletes are expected to compete.”

The athletes will be taking part in a number of competitions and events.

“Sports taking place include track and field, soccer, and tennis,” King said. “While all this is going on, there will be an Athlete’s Village taking place inside the indoor facility.”

The Athlete’s Village is a place where the athletes can have fun.

“The Athlete’s Village is where athletes and their families can come to relax,” Special ED Lead Bridget Mitchell said. “There will be several types of activities, such as games, face painting, karaoke machine, a relaxing station, and more.”

The Athlete’s Village is being organized and run by sophomore Brendan King.

“I’m ‘in charge’ of organizing the Athlete’s Village with Mrs. Fuller (head of the special ed. Department) as my mentor,” King said. “Booster clubs at Lovejoy will all be able to help out by providing booths for the Athlete’s Village so part of my responsibility is to contact them and see what they want to do.”

A few booster clubs, such as the Choir Booster Club, have already volunteered to host a station in the Athlete’s Village.

“We’re going to set up a little bean-bag toss station,” choir member Shelby Johnson said. “It’s always great to have a lot of people around to cheer [the athletes] on and support [them].”

The Spring Games always seem to have a positive impact on the athletes competing.

“[The students] participating are able to showcase their talents, regardless of the impact of their disability,” Mitchell said. “They love to compete, win, and bring a medal back to their respective districts.”