Houston Dynamo was proud to honor on the field of Robertson Stadium the Special Olympics Texas athletes during the match against D.C. United, on Sept. 30.
Hundreds of Special Olympics Texas athletes led the "Parade of Champions" on the field prior to the Dynamo-DC United match on Saturday. The young athletes participated in the Dynamo's traditional "Parade of Champions" ceremony thanks in part to a very special group of community partners of the Dynamo that made this happen through their kind contributions.
These athletes were recognized for several accomplishments, including their two silver medal performances at the first-ever Special Olympics USA National Games in Ames, Iowa this past summer.
"The Dynamo is honored to have had these great athletes on hand for our big match," said team President & General Manager, Oliver Luck. "They truly represent the spirit of competition, and we are proud of their accomplishments. We are happy to have the chance to share their achievements with our Dynamo fans."
"Our athletes are thrilled about the opportunity to watch the highest level of soccer in America and to participate in the parade of champions," said Special Olympics Development Director, Paula McKenzie. "Getting involved with the Dynamo is so important to the Special Olympics organization and we look forward to a long relationship and future events with the Dynamo. Special Olympics would like to thank the Houston Dynamo Community Partners who made this event possible. There is a tremendous amount of excitement for these 400 athletes as well as their coaches and parents. It means so much to them to be recognized for their spirit, dedication and hard work."
The Houston Dynamo would like to thank its Community Partners:
Bronze Partners: Oppenheimer, Starbucks, Vista Fibers, HOG Tee.
Silver Partners: Jim Adler & Associates, Devon Energy.
Their support provided these extraordinary athletes the opportunity to make this Special Olympics night possible.
Special Olympics Texas is an organization that provides training and competition in 20 Olympic-type sports for 24,675 children and adults (eight years of age and older) with intellectual disabilities. In the Houston area, there are more than 3,100 Special Olympic Texas athletes. The Special Olympics Texas soccer team will join with other athletes to make up the 63 member Team Texas, which will compete in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. They will be a part of approximately 400 athletes that will compete for Team USA.
