(Radio Iowa) – The torch will be lit to open the annual Special Olympics Iowa Summer Games this week in Ames. It’s a chance for Iowans of all ages with intellectual disabilities to participate in an athletic competition. Megan Filipi is spokeswoman for Special Olympics Iowa. “Our Summer Games is our largest competition of the entire year,” Filipi says. “We host competitions all year round, but the Summer Games is the cream of the crop. We’ve got more than 2,500 athletes, 1,200 coaches, 2,000 volunteers, plus spectators and families, so more than 6,000 people will be coming to Ames for our Summer Games.” She says the athletes will participate in a wide range of activities Thursday through Saturday.

“Athletes compete in bocci, cycling, soccer, tennis and track and field,” Filipi says, “and usually they do swimming as well, but the pool at Iowa State is under construction, so we held a one-off state swim meet instead.” She says the event’s kickoff is always a spectacle. “Thursday night, we have our opening ceremonies at Hilton Coliseum,” Filipi says. “There’s a parade of athletes where all the athletes parade into Hilton by the 11 areas in the state and with their delegation. And then we give out some awards like Athlete of the Year, Volunteer of the Year. We have some special guest speakers and then there’s a big confetti cannon and then we light the cauldron and we kick off the games.”

More volunteers are needed to help out with the games. Learn more at www.soiowa.org.