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Stonehill College Hosts Largest Ever SOMA South Section Basketball Tournament
Mariano “J.R.” Pimentel (left) and George Mendros (right) present a $2,500 donation to SOMA South Section Director Jay O’Brien (center) at the South Section Basketball Assessment Round February 10 at Stonehill College.
By Kevin Wolfe, Stonehill senior & SOMA intern
When the whistle blew and the ball was thrown up in the air on Saturday February 10, it was not two Stonehill students waiting anxiously underneath to tip it toward a teammate. Instead, it was two of the 467 Special Olympics athletes who filled Stonehill College’s Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex with cheers and smiles throughout the day. 45 teams from around the area were present for the South Section Basketball Assessment Tournament – the single largest SOMA basketball tournament ever held in southeastern Massachusetts. Athletes came from as far south as Cape Cod and as far north as Hopkinton to play in the tournament.
Each team played two games – refereed by certified International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO) refs, who volunteered for the day – in order to accurately assess which division they will compete in at SOMA Winter Games. The Winter Games, scheduled this year for February 29 through March 2, is the season-ending statewide tournament.
In between games the athletes enjoyed cookie decorating, a dance party and a rugby skills area in Olympic Town run by Stonehill College students. Led by John Leahy, the college’s Director of Recreational Sports, the Stonehill community played a lead role in planning the event, recruiting and organizing volunteers, and coordinating the Opening Ceremonies, Awards, and Olympic Town activities. Like the “generic” Olympics, Olympic Town is a source of entertainment and camaraderie for the athletes in between games. After completing their games, all athletes were individually awarded customized SOMA ribbons as a reward for their commitment and dedication.
“What’s most impressive about this event is that it’s organized, prepared, and executed by Stonehill students from top to bottom, they do all the leg work,” said Klete Squires, associate south section director. “The level of organization that the students provide is a wonderful thing. It’s a great representation of the spirit of Special Olympics.”
The event included check presentations and representatives from three leading SOMA South Section sponsors – Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Bristol County Savings Bank, and Philadelphia Insurance Companies. The presentations were made during opening ceremonies to South Section Director Jay O’Brien.
Towns and cities represented at the event included Attleboro, Blackstone, Brewster, Brockton, East Bridgewater, Easton, Fall River, Franklin, Hanover, Hopkinton, Hyannis, Mansfield, Mashpee, Milford, New Bedford, North Attleboro, Rockland and Wareham.
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