Special needs athletes from across Northern Santa Barbara County converged on Pioneer Valley High School’s track and field Wednesday morning for the 10th annual Special Olympics High School Games.
Students from Santa Maria, Righetti and Pioneer Valley high schools in Santa Maria, Lompoc and Cabrillo high schools in Lompoc, the Santa Barbara County Education Office and the Transitional Vocation Program in Santa Maria all represented their schools in their color coordinated T-shirts as they took to the field for the games.
Complete with a Parade of Athletes, the singing of the national anthem and the Athlete’s Oath, Special Olympics coordinators do all they can to liken the high school games to the traditional Olympics. Students competed in track and field events ranging from wheelchair races, 25-, 50- and 100-meter runs, a softball throw, and running and standing long jump.
More important than the track and field games, high school-age Special Olympics athletes said they find value in the friendships and connections they make through the organization.
“I like meeting friends,” said Kaitlyn Sabedra, a Righetti High School senior and longtime Special Olympics participant. Making friends at the events, she said, “is easy for me. (I like) meeting new friends and shaking hands with them.”
When it comes to competing against other high school students in Santa Maria, Sabedra, whose favorite track and field event is running, said, “It’s really cool, it’s really exciting, and I really like doing it.”
Pioneer Valley High School senior Vanessa Ramirez agreed, and said of the games, “I like meeting new students and teachers from other schools, and making new friends. I like to be friends with everyone here.”
Organizers of the Special Olympics High School games believe bringing events like this to local high schools helps spread awareness not only about the organization, but also facilitates a commonality between general and special education students.
“High school for a lot of students is sports and clubs, and showing off their talents” said Bianca McNeil, sports coordinator for Northern Santa Barbara County Special Olympics. “This is (special needs students) chance to show off in front of teachers, parents, staff and other high school students to show what they can do.
McNeil added, “For high school students, it’s fun to be able to compete, and have commonality between general education students. It’s also our gateway to put more of a spotlight on local Special Olympics.”
One Pioneer Valley senior, Jeremiah Acob, was volunteering at Wednesday’s event to show support for special needs athletes not only at his high school, but all high schools involved.
“For me, it’s something I like to do simply because I want to do something for them,” Acob said. “I want to see them happy and smiling all the time.
