Second Annual Esports Experience Will
Include Immersive Leadership Training for Three Special Olympics
Athletes to Become Shoutcasters for the Broadcast
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Special Olympics is excited to
showcase the second annual Gaming for Inclusion esports experience
presented by Microsoft September 10,
2022. Following its successful debut in 2021, Gaming for
Inclusion will bring together Special Olympics athletes and
Unified partners to compete in Rocket League on Xbox and PC for the
chance to play alongside celebrity supporters of Special Olympics,
including NFL legend Jamaal Charles,
TikTok influencer and content creator vaultboy, and WWE Superstars
on September 17.
This year, Gaming for Inclusion will
feature three Special Olympics athletes as shoutcasters for the
Celebrity Showcase.
This year, Gaming for Inclusion will include a leadership
opportunity for three Special Olympics athletes to become
shoutcasters and hosts for the Celebrity Showcase: Jose Moreno from Special Olympics Illinois,
Amber Gertsch from Special Olympics
Utah, and Ben Gregory from Special
Olympics Indiana. As a shoutcaster, each athlete will travel to
Redmond, Washington for an
immersive two-day training on Microsoft's campus. Each athlete will
learn and develop skills from some of the best in esports and
gaming such as how to analyze a game, provide commentary during a
livestream, and interview athletes and celebrity guests.
"I appreciate Special Olympics and Microsoft for providing me
with this incredible leadership opportunity to become a shoutcaster
at this year's Gaming for Inclusion," said Mr. Moreno who is also a
Special Olympics Illinois Athlete Leader. "Gaming creates a common
bond and a fun way to connect with people of all abilities around
the world. I've made new friends through gaming because we love it
and anyone can play."
Gaming for Inclusion is a virtual, multi-day esports
tournament connecting people of all abilities to compete for
something far greater than first place – the power of inclusion.
The multi-day esports tournament will engage and connect people of
all abilities from around Canada
and the United States. Special
Olympics and Microsoft are once again teaming up to host the
Gaming for Inclusion esports experience to showcase the
power of inclusion through sport.
"From the beginning of the inaugural Gaming for Inclusion
virtual experience, we saw connections made and friendships
developed among athletes with and without intellectual
disabilities," said Chief Information and Technology Officer at
Special Olympics Prianka Nandy. "This year, thanks to our
incredible partners at Microsoft, we are expanding on this
inclusive esports experience by adding a unique leadership
opportunity for our athletes to learn from some of the best in the
industry to become shoutcasters during our Celebrity Showcase. We
cannot wait to see them in action."
The bracket-style tournaments will crown champions for each
Rocket League ranking. All gaming competitions will be hosted
through Microsoft's esports platform Start.gg. Spectators can live
stream the events on the Xbox Twitch channel and the Special
Olympics YouTube channel:
- Saturday, September 10: Rocket
League Tournament
- Saturday, September 17: Celebrity
Showcase with winners from tournaments earlier in the week
"We're honored to again partner with Special Olympics
International for the 2nd annual Gaming for Inclusion event this
September," said Jeff Hansen, GM
Strategic Brand Partnerships at Microsoft. "This year, Microsoft is
empowering Special Olympics athletes to participate beyond the
playing field by providing hands-on training as on-air talent to
host and shoutcast in the tournament broadcast on the official Xbox
Twitch channel. Microsoft is committed to supporting Special
Olympics in their mission to be a movement led by athletes and
raise awareness for people with intellectual disabilities across
areas such as sports and leadership."
About Special Olympics
Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is a global movement to end
discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. We
foster acceptance of all people through the power of sport and
programming in education, health, and leadership. With more than
six million athletes and Special Olympics Unified Sports® partners
in over 190 countries and territories and more than one
million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers more
than 30 Olympic-type sports and over 100,000 games and
competitions every year. Engage with us
on: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and our
blog on Medium. Learn more at www.SpecialOlympics.org.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Special Olympics