Author: Ali Phaneuf

With just 6 months left until the 2022 USA Games, our athletes are in crunch mode to train, practices, and prepare to compete at their highest level. How are they doing this? Well, one way is through the Special Olympics Fitness Challenge.

The challenge, which started on Monday January 10^th and ends May 29^th, encourages Special Olympics athletes, partners, coaches, and other delegates to achieve ONE MILLION steps over the course of 20 weeks.

According to our Manager of Community Engagement and Fitness, Vicky DiNatale, ''This challenge will allow our athletes to focus on fitness outside of their regular sport practice. In doing so, the athletes will improve on their overall health, which ultimately will improve their sport performance."

And as many know, Disney World itself can require many . . .many steps to be taken throughout the day. ''The step challenge will also improve our athlete's stamina while being down in Orlando and allow them to walk all day but still perform at their best when competing in their sport,'� said DiNatale.

Athletes keep track of their steps every day using the Special Olympics Fit Now App, where they can earn a spot on the leaderboard and unlock new ''locations" on the 2022 USA Games Challenge map. The map starts each participant out in Brookline, Massachusetts, where Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, was born, and leads them to Orlando, Fl.

''Team Massachusetts is extremely motivated for the challenge since our athletes, partners, and coaches understand how important training for a competition is. The athletes want to collect gold when they are down in Orlando, and they know doing this challenge will help set them up for success," said DiNatale.

Do you want to be like our Team Massachusetts athletes and reach one million steps in just six months? Anyone who is not part of our 2022 USA Games Delegation can easily participate in the challenge on their own! Want to start training now for Special Olympics Massachusetts Summer Games? Looking for a way to prepare for a winter qualifier or tournament? Trying to get outside even in the cold months? Use a step counter, Fitbit, smartwatch, or any other step counting tool to track your progress and join our Team Massachusetts athletes in the challenge.

If you tag us on your one million step journey, we'll make sure to re-share your post to our own social media platforms!