First Special Olympics Swim Meet Held at Cerritos Swim Center

On a recent Sunday morning, the first-ever Special Olympics swim meet in Cerritos was held at the .

About 60 athletes on May 1 competed in at least one of the 15 events. The meet consisted of teams from SELA (Southeast Los Angeles) including Cerritos, Bellflower and Whittier, as well as teams from Greater LA including West Hollywood, Expo Pool and Laces Pool.

Unlike some adaptive programs, such as , Special Olympics sports are centered around competition. As the Special Olympics Athletes oath states, “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

After each heat, awards were given to each competitor according to their finishing times.

Since the Special Olympics is open to participants with a wide variety of disabilities, there were a variety of events at the meet. For the more advanced swimmers there were events such as the 50 meter breast-stroke or the 100 meter freestyle, and for the more challenged swimmers, there were simpler events such as the 10 meter assisted swim and the 15 meter walk, held in the shallow end of the pool. But whatever the event, there was always a multitude of excited parents and family members standing along the edge of the pool cheering on their swimmers.

Besides the family members, there were a large number of volunteers at the swim meet. Some of the volunteers included members of the Key Club.

Ninth-grader, Karen, a volunteer rom Whitney High, said, “It's fun to help the kids, because even if they don't win, they don't care, they're still happy to just finish."

The numerous volunteers were warm and friendly, gladly helping the competitors with whatever was needed, while ensuring the event ran smoothly.

Along with the student volunteers, there were some parents of Special Olympics participants who sold snacks during the event to raise money for the organization, including a familiar face from l, Robin Sumner. “My son doesn't swim ... because some of the parents want to watch a heat, I just volunteered to come.

“All of us [parents] we do basketball, baseball, soccer, we do a lot of different things together, help each other out," Sumner said.

“It's just what you do," said Chris Foster, another parent volunteer whose son, Mark, participated in the breast-stroke and freestyle matches.

Many of the swimming competitors participate in numerous Special Olympics sports and events.

“My son Asia is 16," said Katherine Chu, another parent-volunteer. "He started Special Olympics at eight years old. He does soccer and swimming. He's been doing it a long time, making great progress."

Parent Chris Foster said his son met his teammates while doing adaptive swimming at the center.

“He knows all of his teammates, they come up together,” Foster said of his son, Mark. “He's been swimming as long as Asia has."

Foster added, "He's been doing adaptive swimming here [CPE Swim Center] since five or six, he's been swimming here since kindergarten. He plays soccer. Those are kind of our two big sports.”

Most of the competitors seemed to take the competition seriously, focusing intently on the race and waiting eagerly to hear their times. When they received their awards they were jubilant, and proud of their accomplishments.

Though this was the first Special Olympics swim meet in Cerritos, the city is no stranger to competition for the challenged.

Cerritos has its very own Special Olympics  swim team, and the city boasts a wide variety of adaptive programs for adults and children with special needs, including art and dance classes, as well as adaptive sports leagues. For more information regarding adaptive programs in Cerritos, visit the Cerritos Adaptive Programs site, or call (562) 916-1254.