Gustavus hosts Special Olympics basketball

ST. PETER, Minn. (KEYC) - Gustavus Adolphus College and Special Olympics partnered for a regional basketball tournament on Sunday.

More than 400 athletes from 14 teams gathered at Gustavus Adolphus College for a regional Special Olympics basketball tournament.

The tournament allows athletes of all ages with learning disabilities to compete for a bid to the state tournament, and is one of many qualifier tournaments within the Special Olympics System.

Special Olympics events took a few years off due to COVID-19, but the 2023 season is in full gear, and organizers say that the joy of being back on the court is seen everywhere you look.

“It’s all excitement,” said Emily Carr, Program Manager for Special Olympic Minnesota. “The athletes come in, they are ready to play basketball and they are ready to go compete and have fun with their friends and I think at the core of it that’s what sports are all about and that’s what we’re here to provide.”

The event was hosted by Gustavus’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, who gathered a team of more than 50 volunteers to make the event run smoothly.

Volunteer leaders say that the relationship between Gustavus and Special Olympics is strong after years of organizing events together, and that the cause is one that Gustavus’s students can relate to and are excited to support.

“This is one of their favorite events for sure,” said Coley Rieswelter of Gustavus Adolphus College. “Being athletes themselves, they understand how meaningful this is, and to be able to see the joy that it brings to all of these people when they score a basket or make a pass, it’s just really fun to be able to be a part of that.”

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