Kauaʻi Athletes Join 30-Person Team Hui O Hawai‘i for 2026 Special Olympics

Special Olympics Hawai‘i announced that Kauaʻi athletes will join a 30-person Team Hui O Hawai‘i delegation bound for Minneapolis for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, scheduled June 20–26, 2026. The delegation includes athletes, Unified Partners, coaches and Unified Champion Schools Youth Leaders representing Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island.

Dan Epstein, president and CEO of Special Olympics Hawai‘i, said the selected athletes “have the strength, spirit and determination to make Hawai‘i proud.” Epstein added that the group “represent the very best of our islands and the heart, values and aloha spirit that we hope to share with other Special Olympics delegations from around the country.”

Kaleo Carvalho, captain of the Hui O Hawai‘i basketball team from Waianae, will lead the basketball roster and spoke of team resolve: “No matter what, we are giving it everything we’ve got.” Carvalho also said, “I want the whole country to feel the Aloha Spirit. All our hard work will show in the results at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, whether we come home wearing the gold or not!”

Special Olympics Hawai‘i confirmed the delegation will compete in basketball, bowling and track and field. Team rosters were organized under those sport headings in the announcement; the published excerpts named Carvalho and noted that Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz, retired Hawaii Police Department police chief and Law Enforcement Torch Run officer, is also joining the delegation.

Two Unified Champion Schools Youth Leaders from Campbell High School on Oʻahu will travel with the team and focus on leadership roles in schools and the community, the announcement said. In total, the 30-person Hui O Hawai‘i delegation combines athletes, Unified Partners, coaches and youth leaders drawn from four islands.

Organizers pointed to the national scale of the event in Minneapolis: the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games will bring together roughly 3,000 athletes, 1,500 coaches, 10,000 volunteers and an expected 75,000 fans from all 50 states. Special Olympics Hawai‘i described the USA Games as one of the largest, most inclusive sporting events in the country and framed participation as part of the “power of sport and inclusion” that can transform lives and unite communities.

Supporters who want to back Hawai‘i’s delegation are being invited to donate to Special Olympics Hawai‘i to benefit athletes, coaches, sports or the Hui O Hawai‘i team. Local media coverage from KITV included a photo gallery of the announcement, and a video post noted the delegation includes athletes, Unified partners, coaches and youth leaders from Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Maui and the Big Island.

The announcement confirms Kauaʻi representation on Hui O Hawai‘i but did not list individual Kauaʻi athlete names in the posted excerpts; Special Olympics Hawai‘i has indicated a full roster exists under sport headings. As Team Hui O Hawai‘i prepares for Minneapolis, leaders say the priorities are competition, community leadership and carrying Hawai‘i’s aloha to the national stage.