The community is invited to come out and watch the Special Olympic Track and Field games on Apr. 22 at the Bryant football stadium. The games will begin at 9 a.m. and are predicted to conclude at 2 p.m. To qualify as a volunteer, students had to attend at least three Partners Club meetings to ensure an understanding of the games and a genuine dedication to the event.

“This was a new rule that was put into effect two years ago, because we wanted the students who volunteered from the high school to truly care and want to be involved with the students,” Partners Club president senior Sarah Cowell said. “We just want our athletes to feel loved and important.”

Bryant is a part of Area 10 of the Special Olympics, consisting of Clark, Garland, Hot Spring, Montgomery, Pike and Saline Counties. Because of the vast amount of athletes present, organization is essential to a successful game day.

“Registration will be set up as soon as you enter the stadium,” Cowell said. “Participants will then station themselves in the home bleachers, where they will spend any time not competing. Staging will occur in the band bleachers near the south end of the stadium. Once athletes report to staging, they will go to their separate events. Awards will then be held at the high jump pit.”

To include more of the student body, Partners Club is hosting a pep rally on Thursday, April 21 at noon. All athletes participating in the track and field events will be introduced and have the opportunity to interact with other students. The pep rally will be held in the courtyard if weather permits, or in the Building 4 gym.

“We plan on having two to three games for our athletes and students to play unified,” Cowell said. “We will spend the pep rally cheering on our athletes and getting them excited for the event the next day. We want to make them feel as special as our football team does at one of their pep rallies.”