To be eligible to participate in Special Olympics, you must be at least 8 years old and identified by an agency or professional as having one of the following conditions: intellectual disabilities, cognitive delays as measured by a formal assessment, or significant learning or vocational problems due to cognitive delay that require or have required specially designed instruction. 

Yes! We believe financial barriers should never prevent an athlete from participating in Special Olympics.

The sports fee helps cover essential costs such as facility rentals, equipment, uniforms, competition entry fees, and other program expenses that keep our program running.

• We do have scholarships available if needed

• Sometimes athletes like to pay their fee over 2-4 weeks and that is fine too.

• We encourage athletes to participate in our volunteer system to help give back and support our team. 

  • Athletes can earn points by volunteering at our fundraising and celebration events—each event is worth 1 point. After earning 6 points, an athlete receives a Complementary participation voucher (worth $30).

If you have any questions about scholarships or need help finding volunteer opportunities, please Contact Us!

The Rochester Flyers is a delegation in SE MN with athletes predominately from Rochester and the surrounding communities.  The delegation is open to any athlete interested in the sports we offer.  Special Olympics MN can assist athletes in finding the delegation that would be closest for them.  There are times athletes from other delegations may choose to participate in a sport their primary delegation doesn't participate in.

Athletes do not have to compete in competitions. However, if they want to compete at the State competition, they must also compete at the Regional competition.

If you are unable to attend practice, contact your head coach or send an email to specialolympicsrochester@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Regional competitions serve as qualifying events and bring together athletes from multiple local teams. All athletes who compete at the Regionals qualify for State. State competitions are larger, bringing together teams from all across Minnesota. The State competitions also usually offer Healthy Village opportunites.

In most cases, no--athletes must participate in the regional competition to qualify for the state competition. Very few reasons are excused. Email us at specialolympicsrochester@gmail.com if this situation arises.

1. Check our current sports offerings

2. Sign up via the google form for the sport you choose

3. Complete the required athlete paperwork

4. Attend the season kickoff meeting or first practice to meet your coaches and teammates!