On Oct. 22, Special Olympic athletes exited the building through a tunnel of student supporters on their way to compete in the first bocce tournament held at PHS.

The school has participated in Special Olympic sports such as unified bowling and golf, but this was the first time Pittsburg High School has held an event like this one. Monica Maus, special education paraprofessional, was in charge of running the event. 

“This was the first time and it was also the first event hosted at Pittsburg High School. Special Olympics had received a grant (Elm Acres Grant Fund) for the portable bocce equipment,” Maus said. “This bocce event was a unified event where an athlete partnered up with someone without a disability.”

Special Olympic athlete Fatima Moreno competed at the event. 

“My favorite part about the Special Olympics is getting the medals. We’ve competed in a lot of sports like basketball, bowling, golf and fishing. I think basketball is my favorite to play,” Moreno said. “A lot of schools come to the Olympics and we meet a lot of people from other schools so we meet a lot of new people.”

In addition to Moreno, Kami Woods also enjoys competing as a Special Olympic athlete.

“I like going and working together as a team. I like to compete in bowling the most. I used to bowl when I was little and I was huge in bowling so i’ve always liked it,” Woods said. “We get to meet a lot of people from other schools and make friends.” 

The athletes next competition will be bowling in Pittsburg on Oct. 30th.