On Friday, May 11 the UO student-athletes teamed up with the Boys and Girls Club of Emerald Valley (BGC) and hosted the inaugural O Heroes “O”lympics event. Student-athletes from many UO teams joined BGC members and community leaders, formed teams, and participated in events that encouraged the use of both intellectual and athletic abilities.

The afternoon consisted of events that included a sign language competition, ping-pong matches, dance-offs, inflatable obstacle course challenges, puzzle contests and various sport-related skill games.

“’O’lympics was a chance to highlight the great work [the Boys and Girls Club] does for the youth in our community and to celebrate our ongoing partnership with the club,” O Heroes director Judy Sheldon explained, “It is a carnival and field day all-in-one. The kids have a blast competing with and against the UO athletes.”

O Heroes and BGC representatives from the winning “O”lympic teams got the rare opportunity to pie both the O Heroes program director Judy Sheldon and the BGC director, Adam Vozzola upon their victory.

“I think the most fun part for the kids was the chance to hang out with over forty of us,” said UO student-athlete Jess Drummond, “a group of us volunteer here on a weekly basis and help the kids with their homework and play games, but this event consisted of a lot of student-athletes. I’m not going to lie, though. Some of these kids were beating us at even the sports challenges!”

The afternoon was a huge success. Amongst the smiles and laughs, “O”lympics proved to be an exciting and fun event for all who attended.

Click on the video player below for interviews and footage of this year's event.