EVERY SWIMMER CHAMP AT MEET : SPECIAL OLYMPICS HOSTS 70 AT EVENT.

Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer

One blue ribbon wasn't enough for swimmer Sky Casley.

Within minutes after winning first place in the 100-meter breast stroke, the 14-year-old Special Olympics competitor was eager to meet his next challenge.

``What's next?'' said the out-of-breath, blue-eyed youngster. ``I like being first.''

The Thousand Oaks teen was among 70 swimmers who competed in the Ventura County Special Olympics Invitational Swim Meet at the Pleasant Valley Parks and Recreation pool Saturday.

More than 60 volunteers oversaw the eighth annual event, which featured competitors from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties as well as Ventura County.

Swimmers ranging in age from 8 to 50 competed in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breast stroke. The top 10 scorers will compete in the Special Olympics Summer Games at UCLA in June.

The Special Olympics program provides training and competition in athletic events for mentally retarded children and adults, said Bob Martin, Ventura County area director for the program. Athletes train and compete in basketball, gymnastics, power lifting, floor hockey and other sports.

Physical games help the disabled develop endurance, balance and coordination, Martin said. Competitors also get a chance to show their courage, experience joy and create friendships with their teammates.

``Special Olympics provides an opportunity for a population that may not be able to get involved otherwise,'' Martin said. ``We try to work them up to the highest ability level they can meet. If it wasn't for Special Olympics, many of them would have fallen through the cracks.''

Judy Casley, Sky's mother, said her son's confidence has soared since he began competing five years ago. Next year, the eighth-grader plans to join the junior varsity swim team at Thousand Oaks High.

Before competing Saturday, Sky clearly expressed his goal.

``He kept saying, `I want to be first,' '' Casley said. ``Sky's determined. He's going to be first.''

For Special Olympics as a whole, the goal isn't to win, but to try, Martin said. No time is too slow, he said, and no distance too small. Every competitor earns an award - for courage, determination and sportsmanship.

Brian Collins of Ventura didn't know what to expect when he became a Special Olympics volunteer eight years ago.

But after attending his first swim meet, his anxiety disappeared.

``It was eye-opening,'' said Collins, a Southern California Gas Co. employee who recruited more than 50 of his colleagues to help at the event Saturday.

The ``feel-good'' atmosphere is what brings Collins back year after year.

``I get so much out of the energy they give.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Sky Casley, 14, gets a hug from his mother, Judy Casley, after he won first place Saturday in the 100-meter breast stroke event at a Special Olympics swim meet at Camarillo.

(2) Heidi Moodie of Thousand Oaks competes in freestyle during Special Olympics competition Saturday in Camarillo.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News