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Special Olympics School Games held at Poway High

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About 250 Critical Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) students came together on Friday for a district-wide Special Olympics School Games, held for the third year at Poway High School.

The athletes, who competed in solo categories and in group soccer games, were cheered on by Poway High students from the stands, as well as the Poway High School band and cheerleaders.

The solo competitions were a timed soccer ball dribble, a target soccer ball kick and a tennis ball throw. In addition to soccer, there were also wheelchair races and a wheelchair slalom.

“The day went great. I couldn’t be more happy with the weather and the amount of people who were able to attend, the amount of help and volunteers we had,” said Erin Nixon, the Critical Skills teacher at Poway High School who organized the event. “We had a board member who attended who was blown away. All the classes at Poway High came out.”

Nixon said all the athletes played well, with no tears or hurt feelings if they didn’t win. “Everyone was happy,” she said.

The athletes included students from all five Poway Unified School District high schools, as well as the entire Transition program from Abraxas High School, which provides training for individuals between the ages of 18 to 22 in education, community, vocation and independent living.

This is the first year the entire program has been able to attend, said Nixon.

Usually the event is held in December, but this year was pushed to March, worked out well, she said.

The Special Olympics aren’t just a chance for the students to show off their skills, but to see old friends they might otherwise not be able to see. Many of the students were in the same Critical Skills classes in middle school before being split up to attend different high schools.

It also gives teachers and staff a chance to see former students. “It was nice, because by having the Transition program come, I was able to see a lot of former students,” said Nixon. “Some I haven’t seen in three or four years, and I’d spent four years with them.”

One student did a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes to organize the event. Torry Poulson, a PHS senior, took on organizing the Special Olympics event as her senior project.

“Torry put so much work in,” said Nixon.

Poulson said she is a teacher’s assistant for Nixon and took on the project because she loves working with the Critical Skills students. “These students are all so incredible,” she said. “They’re inspirational for me. It makes my day every morning when I walk in (to the Critical Skills classroom).”

Poulson had to contact all the Critical Skills and ASD class teachers in the district to ask them to participate in the games, then get registrations for all 250 students as well as their information.

She also ordered shirts and lunches, kept everyone updated on progress, and attended all the planning and organization meetings.

All that work was worth it, she said. “I wasn’t expecting it to be this big. This is the biggest it has ever been. Everyone is so happy. Everyone walking down (on the field) together got me so excited,” said Poulson.

Poulson said the best part has been watching how happy all the students are for each other, even if they didn’t win.

She plans on studying education in college, and is thinking of becoming a Critical Skills teacher, said Poulson.

See more photos from the event online at www.pomeradonews.com.

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