By Gavi Geffner,
Staff Writer.
The Special Olympics is an inclusive program where students of all abilities get the opportunity to play sports in a welcoming environment. There are three events for Santa Rosa High School students every year: soccer in the fall at Montgomery High School, basketball in the winter at SRHS and track and field in the spring at Windsor High.
The basketball event held at our school is an especially beloved day for our ESN students and volunteers alike. In the past few years, the Best Buddies Club leadership at SRHS has organized the February event with 80 of our school volunteers, including both women’s and men’s SRHS varsity basketball teams, student government and peer counselors. SRHS reached the Champion status in the Unified program, which means we have demonstrated commitment to inclusion by meeting ten national standards of excellence.
The Special Olympics in the Santa Rosa City Schools District wouldn’t be possible without Benito Comma, or Beni, as he is more often referred to as. Beni has been the adaptive P.E. teacher in our district for many years.
Eleven years ago, he and his colleague Danielle Taylor brought the Unified Special Olympics to our schools. In their first year, two events were held, with 88 athletes and 25 volunteers each. This past year, there were 13 events, 29 schools and participation from over 4,100 students. Recently, the Santa Rosa City Schools district changed the management of the Special Olympics program. Beni’s primary role is now Adaptive P.E. teacher and the Special Services department will be managing the Special Olympics.
Recently, the SRHS Best Buddies Club traveled to Montgomery High for the first Special Olympics event of the 2024 school year. After an eventful opening ceremony with speakers and performances, the soccer games started. Both our A and B teams went easily undefeated, with a notably strong offense and goalie.
The Montgomery student government did a great job planning fun activities outside the games, including face painting, free hot dogs, drinks and the Kona Ice truck. Junior Elliot Macken attended the event. “It was cool having fun with people from different schools and bonding with people during the games and watching the buddies connect with people from other schools.” The day ended with Closing Ceremonies and the distribution of ribbons for all athletes. The next Special Olympics event is Feb. 7, 2025, here at SRHS, giving our ESN students and basketball players something to look forward to!
