DANIKA RADEMACHER, KNIGHT WIRE GUEST WRITER
Wartburg College hosted its 23rd annual Unified Sports Day on Feb. 12.
This event took place in Levick Arena and the Hoover Fieldhouse from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee led the event with the help from Special Olympics Iowa, the Wartburg Athletic Department and donations from Kiwanis.
“Wartburg College is a place known for inclusivity, this event was another way to connect Wartburg students with people in the community,” said sophomore Rachel MacDonald.
This special day led to many smiles and belly laughs.
“We had a variety of activities from musical chairs, bowling, bocce ball, parachute, basketball, soccer, softball and everyone’s favorite station, the crafts table,” said student-athlete adviser Heather Zajicek.
These events were spread out over 10 different stations for nine minutes each. All student-athletes were split into 10 groups and from there each group had three to four special athletes.
“We’ve had anywhere from 60 to 90 Special Olympic athletes participate in a given year. Numbers across the state are still down for in-person events due to COVID-19. This year we have 35 athletes coming to campus to participate,” said Zajicek.
Due to COVID-19, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee was not able to host this event last year.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee said they had a great turnout this year and cannot wait for next year’s event.
To learn more about Wartburg College Unified Sports Day visit http://www.go-knights.net or to learn more about the Special Olympics program visit https://www.specialolympics.org/.
Knight Wire 
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