The North Suburban YMCA’s Special Olympics swim team, the “Flying Turtles,” recently finished its 2024 season at the Special Olympics Summer Games at Illinois State University in Bloomington/Normal.
Summer Games is a three-day Special Olympics event that includes more than 3,500 athletes, 1,250 coaches, 1,200 volunteers, and 10,000 families and friends, according to a news release. It is the Flying Turtles seventh year participating in the Summer Games and receiving medals.
This year, 13 swimmers competed and excelled with medals in multiple races. Out of 26 races the Flying Turtles received 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals. In these races, the Y’s team also had two relays that swam against each other in the same heat along with teams
from other areas. From the Y team, Team Leonardo was awarded second place and Team Michelangelo was awarded third place.
“We are so proud of this team and their hard work truly paid off this year,” Tom March, NSYMCA Aquatics Liaison and Coach of the Special Olympics Swim Team, said in the release. “It was an amazing weekend and we couldn’t have this success without the support of parents and family members.”
The NSYMCA’s Special Olympics Flying Turtles participants range in age from 8-to 22 years old and have intellectual disabilities and are on the spectrum of autism, according to the release. The Y offers many special needs programs, with the Flying Turtle Swim Program being one of the longest-running programs and most successful.
The release said that through positive learning-based curriculum and coaching practices, the NSYMCA Special Olympics Swim Program creates an experience and opportunity for special needs children to adults to grow and succeed. Other special needs programs at the NSYMCA include Buddy to Buddy Workout Groups, Café Voca Vocational Programs, HAWKS High School and HAWKS inclusion camps, Special Needs exercise & yoga classes, art, dance and many other opportunities for individuals with special needs to learn and thrive.
The Y also partners with NSSED, TruNorth, and other agencies to provide well-rounded services to the community. For more information, contact Ellen Mirochnick at EMirochnick@NSYMCA.org or visit www.nsymca.org.