Special Olympics Pennsylvania Bucks County serves individuals with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities of all ages as together they enjoy their time on and off the field of play. 

Athletes and Unified Partners no longer need to provide the three year medical form.   Athletes need to complete the health history and release portion of their profile within the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Portal and SOPA/GPR staff will follow up to clarify what was put in the profile and provide athletes with a medical form if further certification is needed ... Please note that in most cases if athletes keep their profile information current each year an actual medical / physical will not be necessary 

Understanding Sports Sign-Ups & Eligibility

As we gear up for upcoming sports seasons, we want to remind everyone about the process for signing up and ensuring eligibility for our athletes and volunteers. It's essential that we ensure the safety and compliance of all athletes and volunteers.

Understanding Eligibility and Participation: Key Guidelines

Please adhere to the following important guidelines regarding eligibility:

For Our Athletes: To participate in Special Olympics Pennsylvania sports, all athletes need to have completed the portal registration. If you haven't registered yet, please visit the SOPA Portal to create your athlete profile and complete a quick health screening in lieu of a physical. However in some cases, if significant health concerns are identified, a SOPA/GPR Staff Person will reach out for more details / clarification and a detailed Medical Form with doctor input might be needed. Once registered, you can then sign up for your desired sport(s) through the specific regional sign-up forms found on the SOPA website.

Athlete Eligibility and the New Portal: We understand some athletes may already have submitted medical forms signed by a medical professional.  All athletes must meet the eligibility standards and have their Portal account created with their Health History & Release Form complete  to ensure continued participation throughout all sport seasons.   Those ahletes who have been determined by SOPA/GPR Staff to need a more detailed medical history will be permitted to use the current medical if it has already been submitted and is dated between Jan - August 2025 in lieu of setting up an appointment to get that clarification

 You can find more details about athlete eligibility here:   https://specialolympicspa.org/get-involved/become-an-athlete.

For Our Valued Coaches, Volunteers and Unified Partners: 

To become a Special Olympics Pennsylvania volunteer, please complete the Volunteer Application in the SOPA Portal. Depending on your role additional requirements such as background clearances and training may be necessary.

Remember that once you complete the portal registration you still need to complete a Seasonal Sport Sign-up form in order to volunteer / train at a specific site

Coaches and Volunteers at Practices: A potential coach, volunteer or unified partner may attend practices, but must not work one-on-one with athletes, be included in the site's 1:4 coach to athlete ratio, or have unsupervised access to athletes until their background check clearances are complete along with the online courses and they are marked eligible on the site's attendance tracker

We encourage everyone to visit the "Get Involved" section of our website at   specialolympicspa.org/get-involved/sports-sign-ups for full details on eligibility, registration steps, and current sport sign-up opportunities in the GPR region 6