Western Region Unified Duo Angelo & Victoria Hit the Road to 2026 USA Games

Western Region Unified Duo Angelo Sanetick and Victoria Deane hit the road this past June to attend the Special Olympics USA Games, and their experience was nothing short of exhilarating.

Angelo Sanetick has a long history with Special Olympics, having been a part of Special Olympics New York for nearly a decade! He’s participated in traditional sports with several training clubs; including the Town of Cheektowaga and Buffalo Hot Shots, along with Unified Sports and leadership with Cheektowaga Central High School. Angelo is also a Special Olympics North America Youth Ambassador Alumni and an Athlete Leadership Council member for the Western Region.

Victoria Deane joined Special Olympics New York through Unified Sports nearly 4 years and counting, participating in leadership alongside Angelo as a Special Olympics North America Youth Ambassador Alumni. She also serves as a Special Olympics International Unify Youth Exchange member, which connects youth from around the world to engage in sports trainings together.

It only seemed right that  Angelo and Victoria learned they would be attending the 2026 USA Games together at the same time, in the same way. At their monthly meeting for the Ambassador program (which they’ve since ‘graduated’ out of) the pair was informed they would be attending a trip to conclude their 2-year terms as Ambassadors. Previously, they had traveled to Washington D.C. twice for the program, so they assumed a third time was approaching.

Little did they know that they were wrong in the best way possible. Angelo and Victo

ria would be attending Special Olympics’ USA games together to partake in bigger and better leadership activities, and experience something unforgettable.

“I was PUMPED to go to USA Games again!” Angelo said. “I couldn’t wait to see all the sports teams compete.”

“Knowing that I was getting the chance to go to USA Games made me speechless,” said Victoria. “I had heard many stories from Angelo about when he went as an athlete in 2022; and to think that I would not only get to experience this event, but experience it with Angelo was the coolest thing in the world!”

The energy in the room was unbelievable when Angelo and Victoria arrived in Minnesota, noting that it was a big part of their experience at USA Games. “To be able to see how many people from our country were in one place, for one reason, was so exciting!” Victoria said.

When recalling on the environment of the Opening Ceremonies, Angelo remarked on how awesome the ‘vibes’ were during the ceremony and the feeling of being able to experience it with other SONA Youth Ambassador friends. Victoria reflected that seeing an opening ceremony for USA Games was unreal. “To know that all of us were there for the purpose of inclusion and recognizing inclusion is life-changing to me.”

On competition day, Angelo and Victoria spent most of their time at the basketball games. Two of their friends and former SONA Youth Ambassadors were competing, so the pair went out to cheer them on as they took home bronze by the end of the competition! The crowds were booming, the energy was never dull, and everyone was cheering for every event.

“My favorite sport we watched at USA Games was volleyball,” Angelo reminisced. “We watched the New York Team (the Finger Lakes Aces, representing the Genesee Region) beat Pennsylvania which was super cool to see!”

“My favorite sport we watched was cornhole!” Victoria said. “I had no idea that cornhole was a sport in USA Games or that it could be so competitive!”

Though there were countless big moments at USA Games, Angelo and Victoria both recollected on each of their favorites.

“If I could relive 5 minutes of the games, I would choose to relive watching New York’s volleyball team beat Pennsylvania!” said Angelo. “It was so cool to see a team from our state not only compete but win as well.”

“My core memory was during the opening ceremony; there was a point in time where everyone in the stands and on the field were told to ‘rally’ their towels that everyone received on their way in,” Victoria said. “To see all the towels waving and so many people come together in this moment was unreal, and it’s something I’ll truly never forget.”

For Angelo and Victoria, an experience as thrilling as USA Games is hard to put into words. “It’s tricky to summarize such a busy week of time into just one sentence,” the pair recalled. “After we talked and reflected, we came to the conclusion that USA Games was truly an unreal experience of people coming together and strengthening the movement of inclusion.”

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