Media Contact: Nicole Funaro, nicole.funaro@fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000 x3498

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (December 20, 2019) — Fairfield University is pleased to announce it will host Special Olympics Connecticut’s 2020 Summer Games, presented by United Technologies. Serving as the site for the Summer Games Opening Ceremony the evening of Friday, June 12, the University will also be the grounds for swimming, soccer, tennis, and racewalking contests throughout the weekend. Athletes of all abilities from across the state will participate in a variety of sports competitions and demonstrate strength and determination in the Summer Games from Friday, June 12, through Sunday, June 14, 2020.

“We are excited and feel extremely fortunate to hold our Summer Games in Fairfield and are immensely grateful for the warm, accommodating and generous partner we have in Fairfield University to make this possible. We know that caring individuals at Fairfield University and the University’s campus – with its elite sports facilities – will make the Games an amazing experience for our athletes. And, we hope our presence here will bring the joy of inclusive sports to more people in Fairfield County,” said Beau Doherty, President of Special Olympics Connecticut.  

“Special Olympics is a unique global movement that promotes the human spirit through the transformative power of athletics, and through the fellowship that brings local communities together,” said Fairfield University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD. “Fairfield University’s own mission as a Jesuit and Catholic University is to support the human spirit and personal transformation through cura personalis care for the mind, the body, and the spirit.  So we are delighted to join in this partnership to host the Special Olympics Connecticut Summer Games, to share our facilities, to engage our staff and University family with the Special Olympics family, and to partake in this wonderful work together.”

In addition to serving as a venue for sports competition, Fairfield will also offer the Healthy Athletes® Village on Saturday and Sunday, providing free health screenings to participating athletes by volunteer medical practitioners. Part of Special Olympics’ year-round Healthy Athletes® program that gives athletes access to healthcare and education to improve their physical and emotional well-being, hearing, vision, and dental screenings will be some of the services offered during the Summer Games, while free prescription eyeglasses and mouth guards will be distributed to athletes at no cost.

Helping to host additional sporting events part of Special Olympics Connecticut’s Summer Games are Fairfield Warde High School, another new venue for the Games that will be the site for track & field competitions, and Yale West Campus in Orange, which will serve as the grounds for the cycling contests on Saturday and Sunday. Overall, more than 2,500 athletes (with intellectual disabilities) and Unified Sports® partners (their teammates without intellectual disabilities) are expected to take part in the Summer Games, alongside more than 500 coaches and 2,900 volunteers.

For more Fairfield University news, visit fairfield.edu/news. To find out more about Special Olympics Connecticut, visit soct.org. 

Posted On: December 20, 2019

Volume: 52 Number: 54

Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit Catholic university rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from the U.S. and across the globe are pursuing degrees in the University’s five schools. Fairfield embraces a liberal humanistic approach to education, encouraging critical thinking, cultivating free and open inquiry, and fostering ethical and religious values. The University is located on a stunning 200-acre campus on the scenic Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.