Special Olympics Basketball Competition at Clovis North

Saturday, March 9, 2024
CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Special Olympics Northern California hosted a regional basketball competition at Clovis North High School Saturday.

Around 300 Special Olympics coaches and athletes from all across the Central Valley competed to earn their own gold and silver medals.
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The athletes had been practicing for the last six to eight weeks in team or individual skills events.

Today, they showed off their skills in a variety of competitions ranging from dribbling, passing and shooting.

After the skills competitions, twenty-eight teams competed against each other in a tournament.

Each competition was broken up by skill level to ensure inclusion for everyone on all levels.
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"A lot of times athletes are told what they can't do and that's not an option here, right?" Special Olympics central valley sports manager, Haley Janzer said. "So here, they're leaving everything they can out on the court and their teammates are supporting them."



The athletes' families and friends packed the gym to cheer them on.

Janzer says although seeing the athletes make a shot or get the gold is exciting, what's most important is the family environment and support from across the valley.

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