News

Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 19 to celebrate the opening of the outdoor sports complex and indoor athlete activity space at its state-of-the-art Special Olympics Michigan Unified Sports & Inclusion Center. This event marks a significant moment in the 55-year history of SOMI and a key milestone in the construction of the world's largest inclusive sports training facility.

“We can’t believe all of this is for us,” said Max Erhardt, SOMI Athlete and Building Tomorrow’s Champions Capital Campaign Cabinet Member. “Before now, we played on other people’s fields and courts. You might not have seen us then. You will now. You will see everything we are capable of doing. Finally, we have a place to call home.”

Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) is dedicated to creating a world that accepts every person regardless of ability or disability. Our Michigan Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) partners are key advocates in this mission – the single largest grassroots fundraiser for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Runners with the Michigan Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) are lacing up their shoes to help spread a message of inclusion for Special Olympics Michigan athletes by kicking off the 40th annual Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) Run Week, September  7-13, 2024.

Special Olympics Michigan(SOMI) is excited to announce State Softball Finals presented by Gallagher and the Detroit Tigers Foundation. Competition will take place Friday, August 23, at the Canton Sports Center. The event is set to begin at 9:30 AM and will feature a full day of quality sports competition, with games tentatively concluding at 4:00 PM.

This year’s SOMI State Softball finals will showcase 39 teams competing across 10 divisions, with a total delegation size of nearly 800, including more than 600 athletes. An additional 60 athletes will participate in individual skills events.

Congratulations to Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athlete, Aiden Yost, and Unified partner, Kayla Helferich, who have been named Special Olympics U.S. Youth Ambassadors.

The pair's hard work is being recognized at a national level following years of commitment to the Unified movement in Michigan.

Aiden and Kayla are both college sophomores. Their Unified journey began at their respective high schools - Grand Blanc High and School Grandville High School- where they quickly became leaders of the inclusion movements in their building, participating in Unified Champion Schools (UCS) programming.

For us, by us. It’s a motto that formed five years ago during an initial walkthrough of the former South Christian high school in Cutlerville, Michigan with an intimate group Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) staff, athletes, and their families.

“We walked around the fields, the building, the old classrooms and we asked the athletes ‘What do you want to do here? What do you need?’” said Tim Hileman, SOMI President & CEO. “From day one our athletes provided input and thought. We wouldn’t have this facility without our athletes.”

Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athlete, C.J. VanSkiver, 24, has received vision screenings for as long as she can remember.

“Every time I get my eyes checked I am told my eyes are fine,” VanSkiver explained. 

It wasn’t until a trip through Healthy Athletes Village at the 2024 State Summer Games, that her eyes were truly opened. “When I was told I needed glasses, I was confused and shocked,” VanSkiver recalled.

​​​​​​Michigan-based MOO-ville Ice Cream has unveiled a new flavor aimed at backing Special Olympics Michigan. Named "Go for Gold," the flavor was created and inspired by SOMI athletes from Area 11 (Kent & Barry counties), featuring chocolate ice cream with ribbons of golden caramel and Butterfinger.
Located in Nashville, Michigan, MOO-ville Ice Cream is renowned for its handcrafted flavors and community involvement. The decision to create "Go for Gold" arose from a desire to celebrate the spirit of perseverance and achievement embodied by Special Olympics Michigan athletes.

Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) is excited to mark a historic milestone, celebrating 50 years of in-person State Summer Games on the campus of Central Michigan University (CMU), May 30 – June 1, 2024. More than 2,500 athletes from across the state will compete in 90 events, commemorating five decades of quality sports competition.

The spirit of inclusion is set to ignite as Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) proudly announces the arrival of the much-anticipated 2024 Regional Spring Games. Saturday, May 4, athletes will compete throughout greater Grand Rapids and Detroit in the sports of Bocce, Swimming, Volleyball and Track & Field.

The NFL Draft provides a collective opportunity for millions of fans across the globe to come together and support the next generation of players as they begin their NFL careers. This year in Detroit, inspirational fans, community leaders, and special guests will join the NFL and participate in the 2024 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light by announcing select picks live on stage and remotely.

“I look good,” said Danny Ristich, Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) athlete, soliciting a big laugh from the crowd as the hockey goalie commented on the professional gear he was wearing following an hour of warding off pucks during hockey drills. 

The loudest laugh came from friend, Dylan Larkin, standing at his side as the two took questions from the media together. “Danny is always making Waterford very, very proud,” Larkin, Detroit Red Wings hockey captain said of this friend. “One of our local heroes.”

Walking through the empty lobby of Eastern Michigan University’s George Gervin GameAbove Center – a state-of-the-art sports complex that rivals professional stadiums – one would question if they had arrived at the correct location for an event.

The turn styles and ticket booths that spectators crowded through on game days stood empty, and there was not another person to be found at the front of the building.