0 Houghton to Host Sports Spectacular for Students with Disabilities

Houghton to Host Sports Spectacular for Students with Disabilities

April 20, 2018

Houghton University will host a ‘Sports Spectacular’ event for students with developmental and physical disabilities on Thursday, April 26. The event, hosted in conjunction with the Boards of Cooperative Educations Services (BOCES) of New York State, is free and will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Houghton University Nielsen Center.

The college has hosted the event – previously known as the BOCES Track and Field Day and the Special Olympics – for more than 30 years, offering students from the BOCES service area the opportunity to participate in an Olympics-style day of fun. Students participate in an opening ceremony, for which they have made posters, and have a parade. More than 135 students from Allegany County will gather for a day full of relay races, obstacles courses, face painting, pony rides, and more.

The Houghton University community gets involved each year as well, with 40-50 current students joining forces with Fillmore Central School’s Fillmore Representatives of Giving Selflessly (FROGS) program to lead activities and interact with the local students.

This year, Houghton students Megan Brown ’18, Torri Dunn ’21, Alishia Foss ‘18, and Grace Stevens ’19 helped plan the Sports Spectacular as part of the curriculum for their Program Planning and Evaluation course, which prepares students for leadership roles in recreation programming.

BOCES began in 1948 in order to provide shared educational programs and services to school districts within New York. The organization educates students of all ages and abilities, and instructional programs include career programs for high school students, services for students with disabilities, and employment training for adults.