From a news release ST. CHARLES – The 2025 Special Olympics Missouri (SOMO) State Indoor Games will bring more than 1,500 athletes, coaches, volunteers, and Unified partners from across the state to St. Charles, March 28-29. The Games will be held at Lindenwood University, Francis Howell North, Fort Zumwalt East, St. Charles West High School, St. Charles Boys and Girls Club, Cave Springs Lanes, Harvest Lanes and St. Charles Lanes. The theme this year is Glow with SOMO! 
“We’re thrilled to host our State Indoor Games in St. Charles,” said Craig Hall, SOMO’s Director of Competition and Outreach “Our athletes are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to demonstrate their talents on this grand stage!” This year’s State Indoor Games will feature two sports: basketball and bowling. Our bowling competition is on Friday, and our basketball competition is on Saturday. You can find the full schedule of events with locations here! Athletes had to qualify for the State Indoor Games through their regional and area competitions. We still have plenty of volunteer opportunities available, and we strongly encourage the entire community to come out to support the athletes of Special Olympics Missouri. You can find and sign up for all of our State Indoor Games’ volunteer opportunities here! “Events such as the State Indoor Games wouldn’t be possible without the invaluable support of our dedicated local volunteers,” Hall said. “Their contributions are deeply appreciated, and we extend our gratitude to each and every one of them!” The State Indoor Games will officially kick off with the Opening Ceremony at St. Charles West High School on Friday, March 28 at 6:45 p.m. Two of SOMO’s local cheer teams are slated to perform during the ceremony followed by a performance from the award-winning Lindenwood University Lion Line. After the Opening Ceremony, SOMO will hold its annual State Indoor Games’ dance and bingo event at St. Charles West. Along with the competitions, SOMO will also hold its health and wellness clinics – Healthy Athletes and Sports Zone. “We’re thrilled to continue providing complimentary health screenings to our athletes,” SOMO’s Health Partnership Director Carol Griffin said. Special Olympics Missouri is dedicated to improving the overall health and fitness of its athletes, not only through organized sports training and competition, but by also providing free health screenings through the Healthy Athletes program. All these screenings are provided for SOMO athletes free of charge. SOMO will hold Healthy Athletes and Sports Zone at different times throughout the weekend. For more information on these free health screenings, visit somo.org/health. The all new SOMO App is expected to go live this week. You’ll be able to access all things SOMO via the app. Information about the app can be found at somo.org/app. Special Olympics Missouri Special Olympics Missouri is a year-round program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Thousands of athletes participate in 12 Olympic-type sports throughout the state. Special Olympics provides people with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy as they participate in the sharing of gifts and friendship with their fellow athletes, their family and friends and communities across Missouri. Special Olympics Missouri is proud of our financial health, returning 83% of every dollar back to program services. We are privileged to be recognized with these honors: Better Business Bureau A+ Charity Accreditation, Charity Navigator 4-star rating and Guidestar Gold Level. Special Olympics was also recently named Morning Consult’s No. 5 most trusted nonprofit. Thank you for trusting us with your donations, volunteer time and your goodwill. Visit Special Olympics Missouri at www.somo.org. Engage with us on X, Facebook, Instagram, Tik-Tok, LinkedIn, Threads and YouTube. | 