Hawk Olympics returns to Hamburg

Hamburg Area High School offers students with additional needs to participate in track and field events. Multiple schools bring their students and sign them up for multiple events.
Hamburg Area High School allows the students to participate in sprints such as the 100 meter and the 200 meter run and mid distances such as the 400 meter and the 800 meter run. To add excitement to the running events, a 4×100 meter relay was added at the end of the Hawk Olympics. This allowed four contestants from each school to compete in a 100 meter sprint relay race for first.
There were also throwing events that were available for the students. There was shot put and a softball toss. Each member got three tries to throw the balls as far as possible and was then marked by the field members on the track and field team.
Those who won received ribbons that were color coordinated for their placings. Along with different colored ribbons the different place marks were written on the ribbon as a reminder to their great success.
To determine which school each student was representing they had color coded shirts. Each school wore a different color and made it easy to keep track of the school’s students.
Many of Hamburg Area High Schools Unified Leadership Club members came out to help the Hawk Olympics take place. Members of the club buddied up with a student with additional needs and made sure they made it to their events on time. The high school track team also helped run the Hawk Olympics by checking names in and timing each runner with a stopwatch.
Each participant from all the schools were given a free lunch as well which could have been eaten under a white tent out of the heat.
Chase Brodhead, a member of the Unified Leadership Club, announced his enjoyment and excitement for the Hawk Olympics, “I actually really enjoyed it last year. The buddy system was fun because you got to make new friends, while also getting to hang out with people you already know. The food was usually lunch food, so it was nothing extraordinary, but still delicious. The events were fun and very inclusive as well. I can not wait to help out again this year.”