SPECIAL OLYMPIANS SANTA CLARITA HOSTS ITS FIRST GAMES FOR AREA ATHLETES.Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer NEWHALL - Scott Endsley, a gray-haired man in his 40s, picked through the three gold medals around his neck Saturday and explained what it's like to win at the Special Olympics Special Olympics International sports program for people with intellectual disability. It provides year-round training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type summer and winter sports for participants. . ``I feel a lot better that way. It's real fun,'' he said. ``I'm gonna hang them in my room when I get home.'' For the first time, Endsley and other Special Olympics athletes from the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. enjoyed the competition in their own back yard, welcoming hundreds of athletes from across Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, to the inaugural Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Special Olympics Area Games. The stretch of Newhall Avenue that includes Hart High, Newhall Park, the Boys & Girls Club Girls Club is a 2002 American television series created by David E. Kelley, who was also it's producer and executive producer. Only two out of a total of thirteen episodes created were broadcast on Fox Television in the United States and Global Television in Canada. and Placerita Junior High bustled Saturday with athletes, cheering crowds and an official Olympic Village Frequently, an Olympic Village is built within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, trainers, etc. The idea of the Olympic Village comes from Pierre de Coubertin. featuring games, food and music. After legendary basketball coach John Wooden - he guided the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , team to 10 national championships - opened the games at 9 a.m., nearly 700 athletes proved themselves in swimming, basketball, bocce and track and field. Canyon Country's Sarah Seibt, a 22-year-old with Down syndrome Down syndrome, congenital disorder characterized by mild to severe mental retardation, slow physical development, and characteristic physical features. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 730 live births and occurs in all populations equally. , stood on the gold-medal podium in her sleek, black swimsuit and beamed as she accepted her second gold of the day. She also snagged a silver. ``I like it. I can't count how many medals I have,'' she said of her four years as a Special Olympics athlete. Her father, Tom Seibt, videotaped her races and the medal ceremonies and laughed when Sarah admitted that she watches the tapes all the time. ``She started this four years ago and her self-esteem has just gone up tremendously,'' he said. ``She has more confidence. She enjoys the friendships and loves her teammates. This is the best thing that could possibly happen to her.'' Jackie Hartmann, the area games coordinator and mother of a 13-year-old Special Olympian, was thrilled to see the games come to Santa Clarita. ``Our athletes, they know the difference between a first-, second- and third-place ribbon,'' she said. ``But they're just as happy. So many times they don't get the accolades for being the smartest, but in the Special Olympics, everyone's a winner.'' Keeping with the tradition of selecting a theme each year, the Santa Clarita games were labeled the ``Spirit of Discovery.'' ``We chose this theme because this is our (city's) first games,'' Hartmann said. ``Other Special Olympics areas will be discovering where Santa Clarita is, and (we) will be discovering how to put on the games.'' Newhall Park served as the Olympic Village, where athletes tumbled down a giant, inflated slide, bounced on a bungee cord apparatus and even suited up in padded sumo wrestler costumes and rolled around on a blue mat. Ricky Powell Ricky Powell is a legend and a street photographer and host of the public access show, Rappin' with the Rickster. He has a column in Mass Appeal Magazine called "Ricky Powell is... the Doloist". , 33, from Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. seemed more excited about the presents he made for his girlfriend than about the medal he won for his basketball prowess. Powell took advantage of the crafts booth, where he framed two pictures of himself in Popsicle sticks and decorated them with red and green glitter. ``Oh, Sheila's going to like this. I'm going to give this to Sheila,'' Powell said. ``And I'm going to play baseball this year. Look at me in this picture. You see that?'' Some of the athletes will go on to the state competition in June, held in Long Beach. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) The Special Olypmic torch is carried into the arena Saturday at Hart High School Hart High School may refer to:
(2 -- ran in SAC edition only) Jimmy Jue of the Pomona Valley team races toward the finish line Saturday at the inaugural Santa Clarita Special Olympics Area Games at Hart High School in Newhall. Hundreds of athletes from across Southern California participated. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion