Tentatively November 11-13, 2021
The Special Olympics North Carolina Fall Tournament is typically held in Charlotte in November. The event brings nearly 1,200 athletes from across the state together to compete in basketball, bocce, cycling, golf, roller skating, soccer and tennis.
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Fall Tournament, scheduled for November 12-14, has been canceled. Rescheduling the Fall Tournament to later in the year is not possible given the complexity of organizing the event and the fact that future coronavirus cancellations may be extended throughout the year. See the full memo.
It’s no surprise that basketball is a mainstay in the Tar Heel state. Basketball is one of the most popular sports, with 95 local programs offering it. At Fall Tournament, athletes competed in two types of basketball competition throughout the weekend: Individual skills and 5-on-5 team full court play.
Bocce originated in Italy and is very similar to lawn bowling or horseshoes!
Cycling was first introduced in 1990 and the first competition was held in the 1991 Fall Games in Raleigh.
Competition at the state level is comprised of a round of competition on each day and scores for both days determining placement.
Preliminary races are held on the first day with final competition taking place on the second day of state-level competition.
Soccer is a popular sport in the Special Olympics North Carolina program and was first demonstrated at the 1984 SONC Summer Games.
Tennis became a statewide sport at the 1986 Summer Games in Charlotte.
Athletes compete in several types of tennis competition throughout Fall Tournament: Individual skills, singles, short and full court Unified doubles, and singles, short and full court traditional doubles.
Unified competition brings people with and without intellectual disabilities together on the same team.
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Get Involved
There are so many ways to be a part of Fall Tournament! An event of this size requires a vast amount of resources including volunteers, meals and monetary contributions.
Past Fall Tournament Results
View Fall Tournament photos from our most recent event and past years too.
Fall Tournament Photos
