CORVALLIS, Ore. — This weekend in Corvallis, more than 1,000 athletes will take part in the Special Olympics Oregon Summer State Games, which makes its return after a seven-year hiatus.
During the three-day event, which started Friday, more than 1,000 special-needs athletes will participate in sports including bocce, softball, golf and various track and field events.
After the 2017 Summer State Games, new CEO Britt Oess canceled the event for the following year. She was hired in 2018 to right the ship at Special Olympics Oregon, which had taken on too many financial losses to continue on without sinking.
"We weren't sure if we were going to make it and things were really hard," Oess told KGW. "But we had supporters from around the state who really rallied around us to help make sure this organization continued."
The Summer State Games are free for athletes. To keep things that way, Special Olympics Oregon cut expenses, reduced its staff and found new streams of revenue.
"Every single year, our athletes would say, 'are we going back to summer state games?'" Oess said. "And you want the answer to be yes, but you need to do it when you are able to ensure that you're not going to be a one-hit wonder."
Rachel Parsons, one of the special-needs athletes who plays bocce, spoke to KGW about how important the Summer State Games are for her.
"Over half my life I have been involved with this. This organization has made the biggest impact on my life," she said.
"I don't know what I would do without it," said Parsons' bocce partner, Aubrey-Anne Tune, of the Summer State Games.
Said Parson's mom, Anita: "Rachel just told me, 'I'm having trouble sleeping I'm so excited for state games.'"
The Special Olympics Oregon Summer State Games take place from July 12-14 in Corvallis.