Special Olympics New York has opened registration for the 2021 Sun Bowl, a 6-on-6 flag football tournament for the public to be held at Highmark Stadium June 26-27. Individuals and teams who wish to play can register at buffalosnowbowl.org.
In a promotional video to kick off registration, Buffalo Bills Defensive Tackle Harrison Phillips asks viewers, “Do you have it what it takes to play flag football at Bills Stadium?” and challenges the community to sign up and start fundraising for Special Olympics New York.
“The Buffalo Sun Bowl is an exciting, unique opportunity for fans to run out of the tunnel and play on the same field as the AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills,” said Special Olympics New York President & CEO Stacey Hengsterman. “This is one of the public events we missed most when it had to be canceled last year. We couldn’t be happier to be able to bring it back this summer.”
Participants can choose from the following adult divisions: Amateur (just for fun), Co-Ed (must have two females on the field at all times), First Responder, or Pro (most competitive). There are also slots available in the middle school and high school divisions.
Each team is guaranteed to play at least three games at Highmark Stadium. Teams may be comprised of up to 12 players.
Adult teams are asked to raise $1,200 and student teams are asked to raise $1,000 in order to participate. All proceeds from the event benefit Special Olympics New York athletes.
“The Erie County District Attorney’s office takes pride in participating in the annual Snow Bowl, this year lovingly named ‘Sun Bowl,’” said Meredith Mohun, co-captain of District Attorney’s team, which competes in the tournament annually. “We take pride in the dual competition that the Snow/Sun Bowl offers. The first is the ability to channel all of our inner AFC East Champions on the field, but more importantly the privilege to raise money and sponsor as many Special Olympics New York athletes as we can for their respective seasons.”
“We are honored to be a part of the Buffalo Sun Bowl,” said Mike Hefferon, captain of Seneca County Sheriff’s team. “We look forward to the event and the positive impact our fundraising efforts can make on the lives of Special Olympics New York athletes.”
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
