Area 29 Special Olympics return after 2-year break due to COVID-19

The Area 29 Special Olympics recently returned to Cheatham County after a 2-year break due to COVID-19.

Students gathered on the Harpeth Middle School-Harpeth High School football field for the games on May 13.

“After having two years of no Special Olympics, the coaches, the parents, the athletes, the partners, we were so excited, this is the highlight of our county for so many years,” Harpeth High School Life Skills teacher and event organizer Jennifer Copeland said.

“It’s pretty exciting to be back after two years of having limited exposure to each other.”

This year’s games were the largest on record for the county, with around 120 student volunteers helping during the event since its inception in 1984, she said.

In 2021, students competed in a virtual version of the games.

The county, most notably Harpeth High School, runs sports year-round for students, including flag football and bowling, held in the fall, basketball held in February and March, Spring games held in May and later, summer games that invite kids to play volleyball, bocce, track and field, tennis and power lifting.

Though, many of these games were either canceled or modified with the onset of the pandemic.

Flag football became a more skills-based game and focused less on the team aspect while games like bowling, held indoors, were canceled altogether due to the health and safety of the athletes.

“This was really the first time that everybody was able to get together again and do something to this magnitude,” Copeland said.

Athletes between the ages of 8-mid-40’s competed in this year's games.

Officials are working on developing a Young Athlete program for the district to include 3–7-year-old students in the games.

A parade of athletes from the represented schools were a part of the games’ opening ceremonies this year, along with the county’s first-ever torch run.

Fifteen local law enforcement officers volunteered as ‘Guardians of the Torch’.

“They’re responsible for it from here on out, and they want that responsibility,” she said.

Next year’s plans may include officers from each department in the county running a leg of the torch run beginning in Pleasant View down to Kingston Springs.

For volunteer opportunities, visit www.facebook.com/area29specialolympics/.

Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@gannett.com or (615) 517-1285.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Area 29 Special Olympics returns after 2-year break due to COVID-19