Belmont Hill has hosted Special Olympics flag-football games on the varsity football field every Sunday since the beginning of September. These events through the great efforts of Mrs. Phinney. The Special Olympics is a year-long program, aiming to provide sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with physical and mental disabilities. The program, founded in 1968, has grown from a backyard summer camp, to a global movement, hosting 32 Olympic-type sports, and supporting over five-million athletes, and many more fans and volunteers from around the globe.
Athletes play four highly intense games each week, with teams from Belmont, Haverhill, Harvard, and other surrounding towns and organizations all competing to play at Gillette Stadium in the postseason. Due to the prize, the atmosphere is similar to, if not rowdier than any other sporting event, with games coming down to the last play and cheers booming throughout the spectators.
Belmont Hill students help to set up, ref, and manage the games, but are also deeply involved with the players themselves. Kicking field goals, running routes, and punting are just some of the pre-game warm-ups that BH volunteers will join the athletes in. The BH students’ feedback has been that the athletes are amazing to be around, always putting a smile on everyone’s faces, exceptionally talkative, and have an endless, loving passion for the game. As Gabe Umlas ’25 put it, “Immediately when you meet the athletes, you can see how happy they are to be there.” The athletes have not only made every Sunday memorable, but have inspired the boys to always find a way to do what they love.
As the flag-football season at BH approaches its last few weeks, the tensions will rise, providing for exhilarating games to watch. More importantly, the BH students involved will take the initiative to make the last weeks of the regular season unforgettable for the athletes, including good reffing, a healthy dose of candy on the snack table, and a modified Loop.
