On Saturday, four adults and three students led by Newcastle’s Kylie Rios and Brent Hodges will make the jump into the frigid waters of Hurricane Harbor to raise money for Special Olympics Oklahoma and for Newcastle Special Olympians.
Rios, the Newcastle Public Schools Special Olympics coach, said she and Hodges, athletic director, are among the adults and students representing Newcastle. They’ll be decked out in costumes, along with several other metro-area participants in the 2025 Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge.
According to Special Olympics Oklahoma, “The Polar Plunge is a unique opportunity for individuals, businesses, and organizations to take a jump into freezing cold water to help raise awareness for Special Olympics. Each participant collects pledges from family, friends and businesses in the hopes of raising money to support over 10,500 Special Olympics athletes in Oklahoma. Each plunger must raise a minimum of $75 to take the Plunge.”
There will be prizes for oldest and youngest jumper, as well as a costume contest, and prizes for those who raise more than the minimum amounts. Because Newcastle is considered an Oklahoma Unified Champions School, half of the proceeds they raise will go to Oklahoma Special Olympics and half will go to the Newcastle club.
Rios said the participants have been looking for sponsors to help them raise the local funds. By last week, the Hurricane Harbor-area participants as a whole had raised $42,139 of a $70,000 goal.
To be an Oklahoma Unified Champions School, according to Rios, Newcastle Schools had to exhibit three pillars. The first is that they have whole school engagement. Through unified sports, they have a student with a disability and a student without disability participating.
Second, the school system has whole student engagement at sporting events and pep rallies, etc. Third, the school has inclusive youth leadership. At Newcastle, this means students meet once each month and make posters and plan events together.
Special Olympics Oklahoma will begin a spring season of sporting events on March 5 with six events. On April 10, Newcastle will host the a Unified Cornhole tournament. Rios said all the athletes and clubs from the area will come to Newcastle High at 9:30 a.m. that day to compete. She said both singles and unified will compete. The school is looking for volunteers to help that day. Contact Rios at the high school for information.
“The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community,” states Special Olympics Oklahoma.
“The goal of Special Olympics is for all persons with intellectual disabilities to have the opportunity to become useful and productive citizens who are accepted and respected by their families, friends and in their communities,” they state.
Special Olympics Oklahoma further states, “Athletes carry the benefits from their involvement in Special Olympics with them in their daily lives at home, in the classroom, on the job and in the community. Families are strengthened and the community increases its understanding, acceptance and respect of these individuals.”
