SAUGUS — The Olympics are making a return to Saugus’ World Series Park on Sept. 26 after a hiatus since 2014. Before the pause, the Saugus Olympics Day ran on and off for nine years, raising $150,000 for the Special Olympics.
“This is not the Special Olympics this time. We’re running our own Olympics day,” Superintendent of World Series Park Bob Davis said.
He explained that the Special Olympics decided not to participate this year, as they didn’t have the staff or teams to compete. “They said it wasn’t softball season anymore. It was some other sports, which I offered, but they decided they didn’t want to participate, but I already had so much invested and planned already.”
When asked why this was the year he decided to bring back the event, he stated that the park had just celebrated its 20th season last year, and looking back over the 20 years, the Olympics event had been so gratifying.
“It was just a real feel-good experience, and we were able to help so many special needs athletes… I wanted one more year. We’re not going to do this every year,” Davis said.
This year, Challenger Baseball and the Boys & Girls Club will join in.
“There’s a team in Lynn… They ran a little league, but now they have a senior league. There’s a guy named Steve Scranton who’s in charge of that, and he said he could probably put together a tournament because Challenger Baseball is international,” he said.
Davis explained that Challenger Baseball is a league where young players with disabilities can play.
“Typically, the day starts with the tournament, then at 11 a.m., there’s a big opening ceremony, and the special needs athletes come out in a parade. We’re going to honor the Olympics as such that day,” he said.
Davis hopes to get some local Winter Olympics athletes to join the event so they can be honored. Former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan will take part in the opening ceremony and be available for a meet-and-greet. The Boston Celtics announcer Eddie Palladino will emcee the parade, and Gerry Agganis will throw the first pitch.
He also noted that the event will be a fundraiser, with funds split between Challenger Baseball and the Boys & Girls Club.
“The Boys & Girls Club is going to help us out with staffing for the event. We’re going to have a whole bunch of booths and entertainment all day,” Davis said.
Entertainment will start on the stage at 10 a.m. and will be provided by the Memory Laners featuring Howie “Sachmo” Conley, Beat ConnXtionz dancers, Just The Tree of Us, the Rosa Singers, and Joey B-Bop. Joey Barilone will emcee the entertainment portion.
The whole day will take on a festival atmosphere, including raffles, a moon bounce, antique cars, booths, carnival games, a hayride, costumed characters, and a large variety of food and drink. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.
“We just hope a lot of people will find out about this event and come. It’s actually two weeks after Founders Day, and they normally get a pretty good crowd. The last time we did the Special Olympics back in 2014, we had, I’d estimate, around 1,500 people in attendance… I think it’s a good day for people to come out and just have fun. There’s no cost, we just ask people to make donations,” Davis said.
