With a healthy mix of laughter and competition, elementary and middle school students from across East Amwell Township and the Del Val sending districts participated in Tournament of Champions on Tuesday, May 26. Tournament of Champions is an annual field-day-style event for students with special needs organized by Holland Township School and hosted on Del Val’s Tap Webb Memorial Field.
Kingwood Township School special education teacher Maureen Silva has attended the event for 22 years.
“This gives a low-key time for the kids to shine without being criticized by their friends and just being successful all day long,” Silva said. “It’s a great event that you guys help put on. The kids love it. Keep doing it forever.”
Silva is grateful that the Del Val district has kept up with the tradition even after the state left it behind.
“This event used to be run by the state, and about 15 years ago with budget cuts, it was cut,” Silva said. “But, Holland Township School said, ‘Nope, we love it. We’re going to keep it going.’ So, we can thank the staff at Holland Township School for keeping it going.”
Holland staff members aren’t alone in their affinity for Tournament of Champions. Del Val Buddies/Unified and National Honor Society students, who ran the event’s stations, had a variety of favorite moments from the day.
Maggie Prouty, a sophomore member of Buddies/Unified, was one of a handful of students leading the sprinting station and enjoyed encouraging the participants.
“I think [my favorite part was] running with the kids—the ones who kinda lost their motivation a little bit as they went around [the track],” Prouty said. “We were able to amp them back up and get them to finish.”
When kids were looking for a break from the more physically demanding stations, they headed to the temporary tattoo and sand art tables. Senior Reagan Valachovic worked the temporary tattoo station and got to hear about these kinds of sweet moments—like the one Prouty described—immediately after the fact.
“I loved talking to all the kids and hearing how much fun they had,” Valachovic said.
Just as much as the older students enjoyed bonding with the younger ones, the teachers enjoyed watching them.
“I just love how the kids come together,” Silva said. “The big Buddies program helps everyone out, and the kids have a blast.”
Families were also welcome to spectate and assist their athletes. This helped many students to feel more comfortable.
“I really liked when my grandpa and my mama came,” Everly from Alexandria Township School said.
The inclusion of families enhanced participants’ experiences and facilitated a broader sense of unity and connection, which is what Tournament of Champions is all about, according to Del Val Buddies/Unified advisor Dana Stem.
“I hope that they see inclusion and that our community is there to support them,” Stem said.
The overarching goal of the event is to foster unity and help each of the students feel like “champions.” Sadie Erling, a Del Val junior who also hosted the sprinting station, believes that it accomplished exactly that.
“I thought it was just a great experience for them,” Erling said. “I hope they had a fun time, and I hope they come back next year.”
