Special Athletes, Special Games

More than 2,500 special athletes will compete in the Friday, May 6, CSUF Special Games-Kathleen E. Faley Memorial on Cal State Fullerton’s athletic fields north of Titan Gym.

More than 5,000 high school volunteers will join parents and friends in supporting and encouraging the day’s stars — the special athletes.

Opening ceremonies begin at 9:30 a.m. with master of ceremonies Ed Arnold, host of KOCE-TV’s “Real Orange” program. Visiting athletes will take part in a variety of noncompetitive athletic events, including football and basketball toss, T-ball, soccer goal kicks and a 50-yard dash. 

The 8 a.m.-2 p.m. program will include theme park characters joining Cal State Fullerton’s Tuffy Titan and clowns interacting with the athletes, fire trucks and police squad cars on display, live music and lunch for the athletes and volunteers. Among the day’s highlights: the athletes parading down the path of victory while being cheered for by parents, friends and volunteers.

All athletes will go home with a first place blue ribbon, game-day certificate and a commemorative T-shirt; volunteers will receive a community service certificate recognizing their volunteer hours and a commemorative bracelet band. 

The Cal State Fullerton Special Games-Kathleen Faley Memorial was launched in 1986 as a CSUF class project. Two years later, the games were dedicated to the memory of Kathleen E. Faley, an alumna who died in a car accident in 1987. She was the sister of event co-organizer Dan Faley and among the inaugural core group of Special Games volunteers. To this day, her family remains involved in the event’s planning and organization.

More information is available online.

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Media Contact:

Pamela McLaren, Public Affairs, 657-278-4852, pmclaren@fullerton.edu

April 28, 2011