Nearly 300 athletes are gearing up to compete in the Special Olympics Connecticut Unified Sports Fall Festival Bocce Competition at the city’s Old Grove Park courts Saturday and Sunday.
The bocce tournament is open to the public and presented by the Mohegan Tribe.
The opening ceremony is set for 9 a.m. Saturday and will take place on the shoreline boardwalk in West Haven, the host site for the third year in a row.
The ceremony will feature a torchbearer escorted by members of the West Haven Police and Fire departments and remarks by Mayor Dorinda Borer and Special Olympics organizers.
The city’s six bocce courts were donated and constructed by Special Olympics Connecticut for the Special Olympics World Games bocce competition in July 1995.
Special Olympics Connecticut provides year-round sports training and competitions for more than 12,000 athletes of all ages with intellectual disabilities and Unified Sports partners — their teammates without disabilities.