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Washington, DC, 7 November 2007 – The first-ever Special Olympics USA National Games, held in Ames, Iowa, last July, were named “Best New Sports Event” by SportsTravel magazine during the TEAMS 2007 Conference & Expo held 23-27 October in Louisville, Kentucky. The SportsTravel Award winners were nominated and voted upon by readers of SportsTravel, the sports world's event magazine. To be eligible, events had to occur between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2007. Criteria for nomination and voting included superior organization of and attendance at the event, the event provided a superior experience for competitors and/or spectators and the event's host city or venue served to enhance the event.
“On behalf of the 3,000 Special Olympics athletes that competed in the inaugural USA National Games last year in Iowa, I thank SportsTravel Magazine for bestowing us with this honor. These National Games would not have been a success without the assistance of Iowa State University, the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the thousands of volunteers and spectators from Iowa and across the U.S.,” said Greg Epperson, Sports Director, Special Olympics North America. “There were over 21,000 Special Olympics competitions held last year and it is such an honor to have the inaugural Special Olympics USA National Games recognized. We look forward to continuing its success at the 2010 USA National Games in Nebraska.”
“We are pleased to recognize these superior sporting events. Each of the winners is a prime example of achieving excellence in organization and management for both competitors and spectators,” said Timothy Schneider, publisher of SportsTravel magazine, which organizes the annual TEAMS Conference and Expo.
The first-ever Special Olympics USA National Games were held 3-7 July 2006 in Ames, Iowa. Nearly 3,000 Special Olympics athletes representing every U.S. state and the District of Columbia competed in 12 Olympic-style sports. Last year, Special Olympics held Regional Games on every continent, marking the first time in the movement's history that Special Olympics provided regional competition opportunities to all its athletes in the same year.
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