SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday, September 29
3:30 - 5:30 pm | Team Captain T-Shirt Pickup at Kesler Hall on the Fairgrounds
Saturday, September 30
9 am | Registration Desk Opens / Team T-shirt Pickup
9 am | Buddy Walk Village Opens for Setup (Review Event Maps)
BYOS* ~ Set up your area using your equipment
(no early setups are allowed)
10 am - 1:30 pm | Special Olympics Young Athletes Expo
(Learn more about Illinois Special Olympics)
10 am - 1:30 pm | Touch a Truck & Inflatable Games Open
10 am - 1:30 pm | Food Trucks Open (Learn more about Food Options)
Come Get This! Food Truck
Kona Ice Truck
11 - 11:30 am | Thinking about the Future Session (Sign up for the Session)
presented by Thrivent
11 - 11:30 am | Bocce Courts Open for Practice
11:40 am | Team Awards & Special Announcements
11:50 am | Special Olympic Torch special presentation
12:00 - 12:30 pm | Buddy Walk
12:30 - 1:30 pm | Bocce Tournament**
After 1:30 pm | Grounds Clean Up***
*BYOS - Bring Your Own Setup: Bring your pop-up tents, tables, chairs, or whatever else you need for your group.
** Bocce Tournament: Looking for up to 8 teams of 2 to have some fun playing Bocce, a popular Special Olympics sport. It’s easy to learn, will move quickly with modified rules, and prizes will be awarded. Sign up to play will be at the Buddy Walk.
***Grounds Clean Up: We ask that everyone helps clean up the grounds after 1:30 pm.
2023 THEME: SALUTING REGION I SPECIAL OLYMPICS
If you have a family member involved in Special Olympics’ sports, you know how AMAZING it is for your athlete. So we have decided to salute Region I and thank them for all of the hard work that they do to deliver these amazing experiences. SPECIAL OLYMPICS YOUNG ATHLETES EXPO: We will have a Special Olympics Young Athletes Expo area where anyone can learn about and even try out a sport. BOCCE TOURNAMENT: Bocce, one of the more popular sports in Special Olympics, is fun to learn and play. We will host a Bocce Tournament after the walk. Teams of 2 can compete in a tournament with modified rules and prizes will be awarded.
2023 SPONSORS
OTHER QUICK LINKS
VOLUNTEER
We are looking for some great volunteers to help. Service hours are available.
BECOME A VOLUNTEER
BUDDY WALK TEAMS
TEAM CAPTAIN RESOURCES
Team Spirit Competition: Best Sports Theme
QUESTIONS?
Send an email to buddywalk@champaigndsn.org.
WHAT IS THE BUDDY WALK?
The Buddy Walk® was established in 1995 by the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to promote acceptance and inclusion for people with Down syndrome. Over 130 Buddy Walks were held in 2021.