Special Olympics games return to SLO after COVID hiatus: ‘Super excited to be back’

Cheers and shouts of encouragement for Special Olympics athletes rang through the fields of Cuesta College on Friday for the first time since 2019.

Special Olympics of San Luis Obispo County’s annual Spring Regional Games had been on a coronavirus-related hiatus for three years.

Thirty schools and day programs from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties took part in Friday’s event at the community college’s San Luis Obispo campus, with more than 300 athletes and up to 1,200 volunteers participating.

Public safety agencies from throughout the region also showed up to support Special Olympics.

California Men’s Colony correctional officers provided a color guard and San Luis Obispo Police Department Chief Rick Scott brought in the Olympic torch accompanied by founding athlete participant Rick Blankenburg.

Retired Cuesta College faculty member Jani Johnson danced with Luke Freel-Sparks during opening ceremonies at the Cuesta College Gymnasium.

Events included basketball, corn hole and track and field.

“The athletes are super excited to be back,” Special Olympics director Jody Watty said. We’ve heard from a lot of them.”

David Middlecamp

The Tribune

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David Middlecamp is a photojournalist and third-generation Cal Poly graduate who has covered the Central Coast region since the 1980s. A career that began developing and printing black-and-white film now includes an FAA-certified drone pilot license. He also writes the history column “Photos from the Vault.”