Welcome New Management Team Members

Mike Ord has joined the management team as our Special Events Coordinator. Mike's main duty will be to lead the planning teams for both the annual Inspiration Walk and the Over the Edge event. If you are interested in being involved in planning for either or both of these events, contact Mike at rmo928@yahoo.com.

Felecia McLarin is also joining our management team as our Athlete Leadership Program Coordinator. Felecia will be encouraging athletes to participate in SOMD's athlete leadership training and arranging opportunities for athletes to speak at events and serve as ambassadors for Special Olympics. If you would like to get involved as an athlete leader, contact Felecia at alexme03@aol.com.

Save the Date: 2023 Inspiration Walk -

May 6th - New Location

The date is set for Saturday, May 6th for our 22nd Annual Inspiration Walk. The location this year will be at The Meeting House at Oakland Mills Village Center in Columbia. We will use the Columbia path systems and we've mapped out 1 mile, 2 mile and 3.4 mile courses. The 2 mile course will take us over the Rt 29 footbridge and the 3.4 mile course will go completely around Lake Kittamaqundi before returning to the Meeting House.

Families, this is your chance to give back to Special Olympics for all the free sports programs that are offered. Click here to register, donate and to create a fundraising page.

Or scan the QR code to the right from your phone's camera to go to the Inspiration Walk website to register or donate.

Outstanding Student Volunteer Scholarships Applications Due by March 27th

High school seniors and college students who have been committed to the Special Olympics Howard County program as a volunteer and advocate of the athletes can apply to four scholarships provided through the generosity of four families.

The Jackie Burk Memorial Award for Outstanding Student Volunteer for Special Olympics Howard County ($1,500) was created in 2004 by Jack and Linda Burk in memory of their daughter, Jackie, a special friend and volunteer with Special Olympics Howard County.

The Kathy Lindner Memorial Award ($500), in memory of Special Olympics Howard County's first Volunteer Coordinator, was created in 2012.

The Allan Homes Award for Outstanding Student Volunteers in the swim program (up to $1,500) was established in 2005 by Allan and Kathy Waschak. Allan was a member of the SOHO Executive management team, Fundraiser Co-Chairperson, and Aquatics Coordinator.

The Schnorf Family Scholarship ($1,500) was created in 2018. Cole Schnorf is a member of the Executive Management Team, Fundraising Chairperson, and a basketball coach.

The application is located on our web site here. Completed applications can be emailed to info@somdhc.org or mailed to the office but must be received by March 27^th. 

Winter Games Results

Snowshoeing: The HOCO Snowshoe team wrapped up their season at the 2023 Winter Games held at Wisp Ski Resort in Mchenry, Maryland. The athletes representing Howard County at this year's games were Jesse Carrico, Nicholas Howard, Kathryn Moschel and Julian Than, along with Coaches John Carrico and Elizabeth Yao.

During this 2 day event, the team participated in time trials, opening ceremonies and a welcome back reception given by the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. The athletes did a great job representing Howard County while bringing home gold and silver medals and 4th place ribbons.

A special shout out goes to our volunteers who did a great job assisting the athletes throughout the season. Katrina Mitchell-Cooper, Mackenzie Cooper, Balwyn and Jerry Jing, Jean Daniello and Anna Sommerville, thank you for all that you did throughout the season in helping to get our athletes in shape!  

Alpine Skiing: The alpine ski team fought against the lack of snow, blowing winds, and rain, but we persevered! Our athletes left the Winter Games happy and tired with every medal and ribbon they could muster! The picture shows us waiting, sometimes for over an hour, to do our runs, but always with a smile! Many thanks to all the coaches and volunteers for another successful season for our athletes.

Winter Sports Activities

Distance Running Coordinator Ann Worley reported that the unusually mild weather was a boon to the twelve athletes who participated in the winter running practices at Oakland Mills High School track under the flood lights. Adam Yoe and other volunteers led them in relays, tag, and other engaging running activities to keep them moving. these winter practrices have kept them in shape for theupcoming spring track season.

5x5 Traditional Basketball: Team Hyer vs Team Healey/Miller take a break from their scrimmage on March 4th for a photo shoot.

SOHO Plungers Brave the Frigid Temps at MSP Polar Bear Plunge

Congratulations to all those who braved the seriously cold temps to take the plunge at Sandy Point State Park. Special shout -out to our Social Media Coordinator Tracy O'Conner who completed her very first plunge supported by long time plungers Clare Colleli (16 Years) and Mimi Goodman (10 years, 14 plunges). The three of of them raised $5,798.00. Allan Waschak, our most seasoned plunger at 20 years, along with his Allan Homes plunge team, raised a whopping $14,060!

Spirit Club: We are continuing our Spirit Club fitness program this spring. To allow broader participation, the policy is that previous season participants will need to sit out the next season to give others a chance to be part of the program. Spirit Club is being offered by Rec & Parks, so we encourage athletes to participate through them in the seasons which they need to sit out. Athletes can choose to join other Spirit Club classes (a list which will be provided by Spirit Club) that they can elect to join for a fee. Again. These additional classes are not an official Special Olympics program.

JTCC Tennis Clinics are Back!

Registration for JTCC’s Special Olympics tennis program for the spring session is OPEN! Located in College Park, MD, the tennis center’s mission is “Tennis for Everybody” and is proud to partner with Special Olympics MD to offer year-round tennis clinics. The clinics focus on building a strong athletic foundation while learning tennis stroke and strategy fundamentals through an engaging game-based format. Additionally, JTCC has a low coach-to-player ratio to ensure athletes are getting individualized, level-based instruction that they need to take their game to the next level, whether they are beginner Level 1, high-performance Level 6, or anywhere in between!

The clinicis held on Sundays from 4-5:30pm at JTCC (5200 Campus Drive, College Park, MD 20740). The Spring Session runs April 16-June 11. You do not need to attend all clinics within a session to participate and benefit from the program! To register for the program, click here and contact Gabby Hesse at ghesse@jtcc.org with any questions.