The Special Olympics New York (SONY) 2005 Summer Games will be held at Hofstra University on Long Island from June 16-19.

Nearly 3,000 athletes and coaches will compete in the 2005 Summer Games, which will commence with opening ceremonies and the lighting of the Flame of Hope on Thursday evening, June 16. Competition will take place Friday and Saturday, June 17 and June 18, in eight Olympic-style events such as basketball, bowling, gymnastics, power lifting, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball. After the competition is completed the weekend will wrap-up with Closing Ceremonies and the Victory Dance on Sunday, June 19.

"We're excited to be coming back to Long Island and Hofstra University for an unprecedented third straight year," said Neal J. Johnson, SONY's president/CEO. "This is the first time in SONY's 35-year history that the Summer Games are staying at one location for more than two consecutive years. The combination of excellent facilities and an extremely supportive community made the decision easy for us. Based on our experiences in 2003 and 2004, we know that this year will be even better than the first two."

Summer Games are made possible through the generosity of many sponsors. Gold sponsors include: Cablevision, Fraternal Order of Police, Geico, Mattel, New York Lottery and NYSUT. Silver sponsors include Goldman Sachs, and Bronze sponsors include the Insurance Professionals. The official airline of SONY is American Airlines.

For more information, visit www.specialolympicsny.org