Special Olympics PA athletes gear up for the return of the Summer Games at Penn State

State College resident Matt Prosek has participated in Special Olympics Pennsylvania for more than three decades, but over the past four years, he was only able to compete in person once, due to factors out of his control.

This year, the 45-year-old is coming back swinging.

The tennis player is one of more than 1,600 athletes — 41 from Centre County — participating in Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s 54th annual Summer Games this weekend on Penn State’s campus, and, like most, he’s excited to return to in-person competition.

“I can handle the challenge,” Prosek said. “The nice part (about tennis) is that you only have yourself if you win or lose.”

The annual Summer Games, a State College staple that draws thousands of athletes, coaches and volunteers from across Pennsylvania, has had a bit of a bumpy run over the past few years. The games were canceled at the last minute last summer due to poor air quality caused by the Canada wildfires, a decision that closely followed two years of virtual games in 2020 and 2021.

Finally back on Penn State campus — hopefully for good this time — athletes are gearing up for a full two days of competition across eight different Olympic-style sports. The tournament kicks off at 8 a.m. Friday and continues into Saturday afternoon.

This year’s Summer Games are also one of two qualifier tournaments for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota. The national games take place every four years, and Pennsylvania athletes who win gold either this weekend or at Fall Festival in November have a shot at qualifying. In the past, Special Olympics Pennsylvania has sent anywhere from 120 to 150 athletes to the USA Games, according to marketing manager Larkin Richards.

Prosek kicked off the weekend watching preliminaries at the Sarni Tennis Facility Thursday afternoon, but this was far from his first time on the courts — or, for that matter, at the Summer Games. He played his first Summer Games in 1990 when he was only 12 years old, starting out in basketball and switching to tennis in 1996.

Even then, Prosek said, he knew he’d be a part of Special Olympics for the majority of his life. He sees himself as somewhat of a “Paterno mascot,” he said, and plans to stay involved for as long as Joe Paterno coached the Nittany Lions — 45 years.

“For however long he worked for the university, I figured I’d do that for Special Olympics, whether it’s competing or volunteering,” Prosek said.

Although Prosek didn’t compete Thursday — his games start Friday with singles and doubles matches — he spent the afternoon practicing and cheering on Centre County teammates who were competing, like Gareth Roof and Rachel Wolf. Choruses of encouragement and advice echoed across the courts as players were instructed to alternate between forehand and backhand shots.

Winning matches or qualifying for the USA Games aren’t big concerns for Prosek. Instead, he said, he’s mostly in it for the fun of the game, which serves as a distraction from the political chaos he sees on TV. His favorite part of preparing to compete in the Summer Games is taking long walks through town and across campus — sometimes for up to four hours a day.

Patrick Northup-Moore, one of Prosek’s Centre County tennis teammates, has a similar outlook on the games. Beyond just getting the chance to swing his racket, he said, he likes that it gives him an opportunity to spend time with friends.

Northup-Moore, 38, participated in his first Summer Games around 2020, so he’s excited to get back on the court after last year’s cancellation.

“I’m much happier,” he said. “I get to actually see people.”

A few miles off campus at the Centre Hills Country Club, State College local Caitlin Baran started off her weekend on the club’s nine-hole golf course.

Before participating in her first Summer Games in 2017, Baran, 41, was part of the Happy Valley Beavers, a hockey team for special needs athletes. Since joining Special Olympics Pennsylvania, she’s competed in track and field, tennis, swimming and, now, golf — and she plans to stick with the latter sport in the near future.

Because golf is one of the first sports to wrap up Friday afternoon, she said, it gives her the freedom to watch and support her peers as they continue to compete through Saturday.

“It’s really neat to be able to cheer other athletes on,” Baran said.

Baran may be newer to the Summer Games than some of her Centre County teammates, but she’s made up for lost time by working closely with Special Olympics International as an athlete leadership specialist.

Had the games taken place last year, she would have had a 24-hour turnaround before catching a flight to Berlin for the Special Olympics World Games. While she would have wanted the chance to compete in person as planned, she said, the change also meant she had more time to prepare for 10 days of international travel.

For Friday and Saturday’s events, spectators can find a full schedule of events online.