Athletes Compete in Special Olympics Events at Stockton

Fourteen teams, totaling about 180 athletes, participated in the Special Olympics New Jersey floor hockey tournament today in the Stockton College Sports Center. Runners and walkers also participated in the “Jingle All the Way” 3K Fun Run/Walk. 

Special Olympics athletes and the public viewed the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which will be awarded to the winning team at theFeb. 2 Super Bowl, during the “Join the Huddle” tour. The tour travels via the 14,000-pound “Huddle Shuttle” and showcases a replica stadium locker room with New York Jets, New York Giants, Super Bowl and Vince Lombardi memorabilia. 

Members of Stockton’s athletic teams volunteered during the event and had the opportunity to take pictures with the trophy inside the “Huddle Shuttle.”

Stockton College President Herman Saatkamp welcomed spectators, competitors and their families before participating in a ceremonial puck drop. He told the athletes to “take delight in what you are doing.”

Marc Edenzon, president of Special Olympics New Jersey, said that Dr. Saatkamp has “wrapped his arms around us” and asked the audience to give him a standing ovation for his continued support of the Special Olympics. Endenzon also acknowledged the Stockton student athletes and noted that their collaborative volunteer effort “validates what we are.”

Mrs. Dot Saatkamp participated in the 3K Fun Run/Walk.

The Special Olympics New Jersey fund-raising events help advance the goal of Special Olympics New Jersey, to provide free year-round training and competition in 24 Olympic-type sports to more than 23,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

— News release from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey