by Taylor Cotie

The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization that was created by Eunice Kennedy Shriver for children and adults with disabilities. In the 1950s, Eunice Shriver noticed how unfairly people with disabilities were being treated and her goal was to make a change. She decided that she wanted to create an organization that would allow people with disabilities to feel included. In July of 1968, Eunice Shriver held the first ever Special Olympics competition in Chicago, Illinois. After this event, the movement started growing all throughout the United States and is now held all over the world today. 

At Greensboro College, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has been holding the Special Olympics Unified volleyball league on Sundays from two to three p.m. in the Reynolds center gym. Coaching the clinics are GC’s head women’s lacrosse coach Mallory Zelawski, head coach at Power Volleyball Club Bethany Mcquinn and myself. Other students and members of the SAAC committee have also been volunteering as players to help with the clinics. 

The SAAC is a committee adopted by the NCAA that gives student athletes the chance to serve as a governing body for student athletes. I was able to speak with the head of SAAC, Mallory Zelawski, and ask her some questions about helping with the Special Olympics Volleyball League.  

When asking her when did SAAC start holding the Special Olympics Volleyball league, she replied, “SAAC just started holding the Unified volleyball league again this fall. Our SAAC executive board last year was very interested in rebuilding our relationship with Special Olympics and this is our first venture into that process.” 

I also asked her how she would describe volunteering for the Special Olympics. She replied, “Volunteering for Special Olympics is incredibly rewarding. Personally, I have not had the opportunity to work with Special Olympics before, but their message of inclusion through sports really speaks to me and is a great example of the types of activities that SAAC is an active part of.” 

Lastly, I asked Coach Zelawski if SAAC planned on holding any other Special Olympics sports in the spring, and she said, “SAAC definitely plans on working with Special Olympics in the future to bring additional Unified sports to the campus of Greensboro College. Unified soccer is incredibly popular, so hopefully we can start a soccer league this spring. There are also several other events that the local North Carolina chapter of Special Olympics will be holding that I hope to have GC students participate in.” 

  Keep an eye out for other events and fundraisers held by SAAC, as they will be taking part in “Cans Across the Conference” and the Special Olympics Polar Plunge in February 2024.