All Athletes Win at Special Games
Crowds of student athletes with developmental disabilities participate in the annual Kathleen E. Faley Memorial CSUF Special Games
March 1, 2007
By Valerie Orleans
It started with 90 participants. Today, 21 years later, crowds of student athletes with developmental disabilities, along with community volunteers including Cal State Fullerton and local high school students, participate in the annual Kathleen E. Faley Memorial CSUF Special Games, hosted by the university.
The Special Games event was launched in 1986 as a CSUF class project. Two years later, it was dedicated to the memory of Kathleen E. Faley, a CSUF 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. The Faley family remains active in the annual event that has become Orange County’s largest for students with autism, Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities.
“We have almost 6,000 people involved — about 2,400 athletes, 500 school personnel and more than 3,000 campus and community volunteers. And, that’s not counting the folks who turn out to watch,” said Paul Miller, director of the university’s disabled student services.
Participants take part in the opening ceremonies and a variety of events, including a football and basketball toss, T-ball, wheelchair races and a 50-yard dash. The day generally concludes with a barbecue lunch and entertainment. All the athletes receive a commemorative award ribbon and T-shirt.
The next Cal State Fullerton Special Games event is scheduled for May 4 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers are needed.
CSUF also has been host to the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) Fall Classic Games competition for the past four years. Attracting 1,200 to 1,400 athletes with developmental disabilities, SOSC sponsors such events as cycling, power lifting, bowling, soccer, softball and volleyball in the Fall Games which complement the Summer and Winter Games that are held annually.
Produced by the Office of Public Affairs at California State University, Fullerton.