Canton, NY – Roughly 70 Special Olympians accompanied by nearly 100 SUNY Canton student-athletes and volunteers took part in the 2024 New York State Special Olympics Summer Games on Saturday, April 20th on SUNY Canton's campus.

This was the ninth year the institution hosted Special Olympics and the second since 2019 as the event had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The day featured friendly events and a variety of sports that the Special Olympians took part in assisted by the Roos student-athletes. Those events included but were not limited to track and field events, softball throwing competitions and basketball.

SUNY Canton would like to give a special thank you to its student-athletes, coaches and members of the athletics department, the SUNY Canton Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Janet Parcell and her students from the Health and Fitness Promotion major, Deborah Molnar, Jennifer McDonald and her students from the Physical Therapist Assistant major, Danielle Armstrong, Erik Kromer and Taylor Mead and all of the Special Olympics volunteers and coaches. 
   
"Hosting the Special Olympics is always a tremendous experience for our campus and community as a whole," Athletic Director Randy B. Sieminski said. "I am extremely proud of the participation of our student-athletes, faculty, staff and volunteers. This is our ninth year hosting the event and the day always stands out as one of the best for our student-athletes and all involved. Our student-athletes look back fondly and remember the bonds they have created with the Olympians years later."
     

About SUNY Canton
As Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs, SUNY Canton delivers quality hands-on programs in digital design, engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 23 online degree programs. The college placed first in 14 categories in a SUNY-Wide Student Opinion Survey, most notably in career services, tutoring, library resources, and classroom facilities. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also features varsity esports and cheerleading.