May 10, 2008

Showing off their skills

Super sports day attracts more than 700 athletes

By Mark Abramson / Daily News Staff Writer

Friends and family cheered hundreds of Special Olympics athletes Friday as they participated in some good-spirited competition at Burlingame High School.

The fifth annual Super Sports Day attracted more than 700 mentally and physically disabled athletes from schools across San Mateo County and 200 volunteers who helped organize and run the event. The first Super Sports Day featured only six athletes.

Unlike most athletic events, though, Super Sports Day is not about winning or losing. All participants receive ribbons for their hard work and weeks of training, with gold, silver and bronze medals going only to the first-, second- and third-place winners of two heats of mile runs.

Friday's Super Sports Day got started after Chris Joseph, a 20-year-old special education student at Burlingame High School, sang the national anthem. Joseph later strutted his stuff in the long jump, 100-meter run and the softball throw.

"It's so great. I just sang the national anthem, and I rocked the house," Joseph said. "I like to exercise a lot. This is a great thing."

Joseph's classmate, Manya Wadera, 21, said she was pleased with the turnout.

"It's easier for me to get my exercise (by participating in Super Sports Day)," she said.

Super Sports Day was the first Special Olympics event to be held in county schools, and it was recently expanded to San Francisco.

"The teachers love it and the kids love it," said Pat Diskin, the San Mateo County schools coordinator for Special Olympics and founder of Super Sports Day.

Many special education students didn't participate in Special Olympics before Super Sports Day, Diskin said.

"This is the fastest-growing part of our program," Special Olympics spokeswoman Kirsten Cherry said. "It's huge and it's totally being embraced by the schools. Everyone (participating) gets a ribbon. They are all winners."

Angel Sheridan, an adaptive physical education teacher in the South San Francisco Unified School District who helped launch Super Sports Day when she worked for Special Olympics, brought athletes from nine district classes this year.

"They have been so excited about this event for weeks," Sheridan said. "It is a huge boost for their self-esteem."



E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.