Special Education Student-Athletes from Tri-Valley To Participate Bay Area Games

From Special Olympics of Northern California:

Bay Area special education students will get to participate in a track and field competition known as Bay Area Games on April 30 at Acalanes High School in Lafayette. Hosted by Special Olympics Northern California as part of its Schools
Partnership Program, the 2013 Bay Area Games will see more than 400 special education students compete.

The 2013 Bay Area Games is the second annual interscholastic competition created specifically for special education students-athletes. Students from across the Bay Area will compete with 200 students hailing from Contra Costa County, 100 from San Francisco, 100 from San Mateo County and 50 from the Tri-Valley area. Serving as peer partners and racer timers, more than 150 non-
disabled students from Acalanes High School will volunteer at Bay Area Games.

Schools from Contra Costa County and the Tri-Valley area that are scheduled to participate (as of April 18) are – Acalanes High School, Del Valle Transition Program, Dublin High School, Heritage High School, John Swett CBI, Liberty High School, Martinez Community Academy, Miramonte High School, Monte Vista High School, Mt. Diablo Unified BRIDGE Transition Program, San Ramon
Valley High School, Springhill Elementary School and Stanley Middle School.

The day’s events begin at 10 a.m. with opening ceremonies, which are followed by three action-packed hours of track and field competition. Every student athlete will be recognized for their achievements by having a Special Olympics Bay Area Games medal draped around their necks by Bay Area law enforcement.

The event is open to all qualified special education student-athletes grades K-12, who have all been training for the competition as part of the Special Olympics Schools Partnership Program. The Schools Partnership Program provides 24 weeks of training in three sports– soccer, basketball and track and field – to over 4,600 special education students.

Both the 2012 and 2013 Bay Area Games were made possible in part by Chevron, an annual partner of Special Olympics Northern California.

“Seeing the positive impact on students in Contra Costa County, we are continuing our partnership with Special Olympics Northern California to bring together students from across the Bay Area,” said Chuck Taylor, Vice President of Strategic Planning for Chevron Corporation and Vice Chairman of Special Olympics Northern California Board of Directors. “Watching many of these student-athletes last year compete for the first time against students from other schools was inspiring. At Chevron, we recognize that with this program,
the possibilities are endless.”

For more information on Bay Area Games and to see a list of current participating schools, please visit www.BayAreaGames2013.org.
To see photos from the 2012 Bay Area Games, please visit www.Flickr.com/SONorCal.