OSWEGO, NY – On May 11, 2023, the Special Olympics Oswego Torch Run 5K will be lead by members of the Oswego City Police Department working in collaboration with the Oswego City School District to support the Oswego Olympiad Invitational.
Special Olympics New York provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-style sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness and experience the joys of athletics. The mission of the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) is to raise awareness and funds for the Special Olympics movement.
“Our partnership with law enforcement, on a local and statewide level, is crucial to the success of our organization,” said Michaela Darbyshire, Associate Director of Development and LETR Liaison for Special Olympics New York. “Law enforcement representatives continue to show up for our athletes every single day, and that’s what makes these awareness runs even more important.”
Much like Special Olympics, the Oswego Olympiad Invitational, being held the same day at Phoenix High School, consists of local Oswego County student-athletes with intellectual disabilities participating in a variety of athletic events.
Known as Guardians of the Flame, members of the Oswego City Police Department, Oswego County Sheriff’s Department, SUNY Oswego Police, New York State Police, Oswego County Regional Police Academy and US Border Patrol will begin to carry the ‘Flame of Hope’ at 7:45 AM, leaving the Oswego Middle School and finishing at the Oswego High School. “The flame symbolizes courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe,” said Investigator Chelsea Giovo, a member of the State Committee for Special Olympics LETR and an organizer of the local Torch Run.
While law enforcement carries the torch from school to school, the Oswego High School student body and staff will gather along Buccaneer Boulevard to cheer on the student-athletes as they finish the last leg of the run with law enforcement.
“Through the Torch Run, our support of Special Olympics, and our partnership with the Oswego City School District, we are lighting the way for acceptance and inclusion,” commented Oswego Police Chief Phil Cady.
If you’d like to cheer on the runners as they carry the flame through the city, please access the route through the Oswego Police Department’s Facebook
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