Over 200 competitors will be taking the field for a full day of action beginning at 9am
WOODSTOCK - Hundreds are planned to make their way to Cowan Park this Saturday for a tournament like no others. Woodstock will welcome teams from across the region to compete in a Special Olympic Soccer tournament. Manager and Head Coach of the Woodstock Special Olympic Soccer Club, Catherine Koolen, breaks how the day will unfold. "We have 5 communities involved, there'll be 3 divisions competing and divisions are specific to skill and ability. We all know that people do better when they are involved in their community, and specifically people with intellectual disabilities, anybody who is on the team is included." Everything begins at 9am with a special opening ceremony led by Mayor Trevor Birtch.
Celebrating the 3rd consecutive year 12 teams will make the journey to the Friendly City. Koolen, explains what contests will be awaiting for the competitors. "There is also a skills competition that involves players competing for longest kick, farthest throw, now we have something new this year where we are doing top scores overall in a tournament, and there's trophies and medals for this part of the competition." The public are being asked to come out and cheer everyone on as Koolen adds this is all about inclusion.
Koolen is still looking for volunteers for Saturday morning. "Rain or shine we do play we are really looking forward to a fun day! We are expecting about 200 in athletes and coaches, were always looking for volunteers. This is a good way for senior high school students looking to fulfill their community hours and just have wonderful time and truly make a difference in someone's life." Koolen knows this will be good practice for the team when Woodstock hosts the provincial championships next July.

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