Charity Yard Sale Raises Over $1,500 for Team Mesa

The MASD Booster Club hosted the 2nd annual Charity Yard Sale from November 18-20, 2010 at the Hill's residence. The Booster Club, made up of parents and family members of athletes involved in the Mesa Special Olympics programs, raised over $1,500 at the yard sale this year which will support the purchase of equipment and uniforms for the programs as well as provide support to continue all Special Olympic programs for 12-week sessions. A special thank you to the families that volunteered at the Charity Yard sale - Penny and Bekah Morse, Lalanda Bailey, Carol and Shelly Burns, Bonni and Chris Ferry, Chris Hite, the Hill family and many more. Thank you to the individuals and families that donated the items that were sold at the yard sale.

The Booster Club is currently selling Spirit Cups to raise funding for the Mesa Special Olympics programs. A set of 4 cups is just $15.00. Show your spirit for the Special Olympics and purchase a set today! Contact Lane Jeppesen at 480.835.6273/lane@mesadisabledsports.com to see what team cups we have for sale.

Former Mesa Athlete, Edward Mathurin is a Referee

One of our former Mesa athletes, Edward Mathurin, has been training as a referee. Edward currently is an AIA basketball referee for the junior high school games in Mesa as well as volunteering as a referee for Arizona Disabled Sports and Special Olympics. Edward has become a trained US Power Soccer Association referee for our local competitions in power soccer and volunteers for the Special Olympics Floor Hockey and Soccer competitions. Congratulations to Edward Mathurin on his accomplishments as a referee.

Special Olympics Soccer Season

The 2010 Special Olympic Soccer Season was a great success. We had 30 athletes participate many who were returning and several new faces as well. We were very excited to see our new young athletes joining the soccer team. Each week athletes practiced hard and gave their all while learning new skills. Mesa’s teams played their hearts out at the regional competition. It was exciting to see our junior unified team compete for the first time this year. Mesa’s Individual Skills athletes did an amazing job as well, bringing home three gold’s and a silver. We are so proud of all our athletes. Their dedication, hard work and good sportsmanship is evident at practices as well as competitions. A big thank you to all the coaches, volunteers and parents for helping to make this season a successful and memorable one for all those who participated. MESA ROCKS!

Mistletoe Magic Holiday Dance and Dinner

All that glitters seemed to be the theme at this year’s Mistletoe magic dance which was held on Saturday, December 11 at the Chandler Community Center. 250 Attendees were dressed in their holiday best, with everyone looking beautiful. Participants enjoyed a delicious roast beef and potato dinner, yummy desserts, dancing with their friends and even a picture with the big jolly man himself. A great time was had by all.

Special Olympics Golf

This was an outstanding year for Special Olympics golf. We had 62 athletes/partners participate in our program, some of which were new and some the familiar faces that play every year. Due to the closure of the Mesa Family Golf Center, golf practice was moved to Mesa Riverview Golf Course. This course was beautiful and the staff welcomed us with open arms. Athletes and Partners competed in two competitions. The area was held at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Tempe and the other was the State Golf competition at Vistal.

This year the State Special Olympics Golf tournament was held as a standalone competition. This event was held at Vistal Golf Course and was a first class competition. As I approached the tent for Opening Ceremonies, tears filled my eyes as I saw the how beautifully decorated it was. Chills were sent up my arms as I listened to the bagpipes play at Opening Ceremonies, while watching ten Special Olympic golfer’s simultaneously hit the first golf ball to open the games. Throughout the weekend I watched in amazement, in awe, of how our athletes were awesome competitors and how much fun they appeared to be having.

I would like to congratulate all the golfers on a fantastic season. Your spirit and love of the game is immeasurable and it is always a joy to watch you compete. A heartfelt thank you to all the partners for attending practice each week ready to play golf, cheering your athlete on. You make it possible for our athletes to have a great golf experience while learning the game. I also want to thank golf coaches Greg Leicht, Ron Duranti, Chad Harper and Andrew Kupitz for all their hard work and dedication to our athletes. You are AMAZING!

SOEV Bowling Tournament

Just when you thought that bowling couldn’t get any bigger, it did!!! This year there were 100 more bowlers than last year. The tournament was held again at the Brunswick Zone at 1754 W. Southern Ave. on Friday, November 19th and Saturday, November 20th. Special awards were given out this year to athletes who had the highest average in each age group. They were presented bowling pins from the Special Olympic National Bowling Tournament that were signed by retired professional athletes. Congratulations to all of the amazing athletes that participated in the 2010 tournament.

Mesa Regional Soccer Tournament

On Saturday, November 6th Mesa hosted the Special Olympics Regional Soccer Tournament at the Hohokam Baseball Stadium. It was decided to have our own tournament this year because Maricopa was going to have their soccer tournament on December 11th which was the same date as our floor hockey tournament. We had 10 teams participate in the tournament which included both traditional and unified teams. Independence High School had 4 teams, Marcos de Niza brought a unified team, the Gilbert Roadrunner brought 1 junior and 1 junior high unified team and Mesa had 2 adult teams and 1 unified junior team. Our Mesa team did a great job and had two 2nd place finishes and a third place finish.

Mesa Invitational Floor Hockey Tournament

On Saturday, December 11, 2010 the 5th Annual Mesa Invitational Floor Hockey Tournament was held at Skyline High School in East Mesa. Eight teams participated in the tournament including 3 from Tucson Sunnyside High School, 2 from Chandler, 1 from Kingman, Arizona and 2 from Mesa. This year Mesa’s team has grown to the point that they were able to make two teams, the Coyotes and the Roadrunners. Both teams were in Division B with the Roadrunners taking 1st place by beating the Sunnyside Rattlers, Chandler Gold and the Mesa Coyotes. The Mesa Coyotes finished in third place. This is the first time that a Mesa team has placed first in this tournament. Congratulations to the Mesa Roadrunners!