On Tuesday, the 4th Annual Spartan Games brought together thousands of athletes and volunteers from across Schuylkill County to compete.
The "Spartan Games" is an event where North Schuylkill hosts a day full of competition, activities, and fun for local students with special needs.
The 800 athletes that participated travel to Spartan Stadium from 19 schools across Schuylkill County and the surrounding areas.
Participating districts include North Schuylkill, Shenandoah Valley, Mahanoy Area, Minersville, Tamaqua, Blue Mountain, Tri-Valley, Williams Valley, Mt. Carmel, Southern Columbia, Shamokin, Pottsville, Schuylkill Haven, St. Clair, Pine Grove, Upper Dauphin, Panther Valley, St. Joseph’s Learning Center and the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit.
This was the first games held since in 3 years due to COVID-19 canceling the event in 2020 and 2021.
Events included track and field events such as Throwing (Javelin, Shot Put, Tennis ball, Frisbee); Jumping (Running Long Jump, Standing Long Jump, Vertical Jump); Running (50 meter race, 100 meter race, 50 meter walk, wheelchair race); and a 4 x 100 relay race (each district enters a team to compete for a team trophy). Each athlete received a ribbon for the events they participated in.
Along with the events, various other activities took place in and around the stadium throughout the day. When athletes were not competing in an event, they participated in a carnival with fun games and activities, including live music, face-painting, and a bounce house. The North Schuylkill Marching Band and cheer squads were also on hand to entertain and rally around the student-athletes.
Culinary students from the Schuylkill Technology Center also had a stand outside the stadium serving food for spectators.
Pine Grove returned to defend the Relay event that they won back in 2019. Three heats were held with each school assembling a team of four to compete. The 2022 winner was the Mount Carmel Tornadoes finishing the race in 1 minute 6 seconds.
Instead of a Mascot Race this year, a sort of tag/flag football game was held. Each of the mascots that attended wore flags around their waist. When officials said go, the mascots attempted to remove each others flags. Whoever had the most flags in the end was the winner. The honor went to the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devil.
By the end of the event, everyone who attended enjoyed a day in the sun and left with the smile, some ribbons, and the eagerness to come back again next year.
