The buzz of excitement was palpable all weekend during the 2025 Special Olympics New York winter games. Hosted in Rochester, N.Y., about 1,000 athletes gathered from across the state to compete in a variety of events including floorball, figure skating, and snowshoeing.

It takes a village to make the winter games possible. Volunteer Brandon Nicosia, a volunteer with Fun Fitness, said of the athletes, “It’s all about the fun.” Nicosia is a second-year physical therapy student at Nazareth University and has volunteered with Special Olympics New York for five years. He said he could tell the athletes loved being at the winter games and he was excited for the opportunity to work with them again. EMT Sue Prince also volunteered at the games. When asked about being a Special Olympics New York volunteer, Prince said, “I see myself doing this forever. I just could never see myself not doing it.” She added that the athletes’ sportsmanship was her favorite thing to see from the weekend.

The western New York region experienced a heavy amount of snow in the weeks prior to the winter games. Competition day was sunny with temperatures in the 30s, making excellent conditions for the outdoor sporting events. Athletes’ passion for their sports and excitement about representing their communities was on full display throughout the weekend and many participants expressed joy at being a part of Special Olympics winter games.

Edna Fletcher, a mom who coaches her son Daniel Fletcher in floorball, the community that Special Olympics brings is like no other. “Even though it (this weekend) was stressful, it really came
together,” said Fetcher. In the 30 years she has been a part of the Special Olympics, Fletcher said she felt this was one of the best years. Daniel added, “I just keep going, going, going.”

After competition came to a close on Saturday, athletes, coaches, families, and volunteers filled the Empire Hall at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center for a victory dinner, the Healthy Athletes event, and a dance party that lasted until 9pm. As music filled the hall, the athletes made their way upstairs from the victory dinner, took pictures together in a photo booth, and danced in groups celebrating the weekend.

-Story by Natasha Kaiser and Austin Goodenough

The Healthy Athletes event featured several colorful stations manned by local volunteers who worked with athletes during the closing ceremonies of Special Olympics New York Winter Games. Many volunteers were from colleges in the Rochester area, attending the event to gain experience for their pre-med and medical degrees. They demonstrated techniques like stretching, performed health screenings and provided information about nutrition. A main table promoted the stations, offering a card and a free hat to each athlete who completed a screening event.

Volunteers in t-shirts with smile logos promoted dental health. The students — each working toward an undergraduate pre-dental degree from the University of Rochester — kept records or shadowed a professional dentist as athletes completed screenings for gingivitis, fractures, and tooth decay.

Yellow-shirted physical therapy students from Nazareth University tested athletes’ functional movement. “The hope with this is to ultimately educate them in what their deficits could possibly be and to bring up their awareness and educate them on anything that might be happening,” said Vincent Le, a volunteer from Greece, N.Y. He described several tests athletes completed to assess range of motion, balance, strength, and grip.

A row of stations manned by St. John Fisher University nursing program students taught mental health techniques. In the morning, they had worked at a booth that engaged athletes in using words of affirmation to aid their mental health. During the Healthy Athletes event, they had stations explaining the use of stress balls, positive affirmations, strong breathing, stretching, and body movement. They identified connections to positive mental health and used arts and crafts to help the athletes identify their support systems.

Another St. John Fisher station gave athletes checkups. Nursing students measured athletes’ height, weight, blood pressure, BMI, and their general fitness to compete. They then taught the athletes a short lesson about healthy living. Edward Graves, a nursing student originally from Dansville, N.Y., said the volunteers spoke to athletes about a variety of topics including, “how much of each food group you should eat, how much fruit, vegetables, water intake … hand hygiene, handwashing, bone health, vitamins, and then we go over everything with the athlete and ask them if there’s anything else they want us to cover or talk about.” Graves added that he enjoyed working with the athletes, and thought the event was a wonderful opportunity for nursing students.

At the final station, a makeshift optometry office offered athletes an eye exam. They provided daily use, sports, and sun glasses to any athlete with vision issues. This station was unique in that it was manned by local professionals, not college students.

The athletes’ interactions with the stations appeared to be overwhelmingly positive. Kenny Moriarty, an experienced snowshoeing athlete from Rochester, N.Y., said his favorite was the dental station and added a strong recommendation for folks to try volunteering for both the games and the Healthy Athletes event.

Another athlete, Omar Barry, stated that he too was having fun at the health event. Barry has competed in Special Olympics for more than 10 years, and said he has completed in alpine skiing for nine of them. “It’s always important to just take care of yourself,” said Barry. “Listen to what your body has to say. And that means that even if you have to cancel running you have to listen to your body. Don’t just try to force it. That’s just gonna make it worse.

– Story by Lydia Hammer

Friends & Medals

Walking into the closing ceremonies, athletes and guests were greeted with music, games, and a spotlight at the photo booth operated by Rochester Institute of Technology students. With the help of RIT professors Clay Patrick McBride and James Porto, a team of photography students came together to create lasting memories for the Special Olympic New York athletes.

“I’ve photographed famous people, and I never see them see my pictures,” said McBride. “It’s just very uplifting. I think it’s very empowering for the athletes to see themselves looking heroic at the height of their sports.”

Student photographers, with varying levels of experience, worked in groups to help make the photo booth possible. There were students in charge of lighting, capture, and printing.

“Honestly, I love seeing their reactions,” said Nicole Curtin, a sophomore photojournalism student. “It’s a fun way to commemorate the events. The feeling in which they’re having that moment, it’s a fun time, it’s exciting.”

From portraits to group photos and goofy pictures, a variety of scenes were captured to commemorate the athletes’ achievements with friends and family. Over 150 participants lined up, waiting for up to 15 minutes, excited to get their pictures taken and take home 4×6 prints.

Summer Williams, a Special Olympics athlete, explained that it made her feel powerful being photographed.

“Just having a photo taken is special because you get to collect the memories,” said Jude Killar.