Yuma Elementary students take part in Special Olympics of Arizona

Yuma Elementary School District One schools students take part and have a great time at the fall Special Olympics of Arizona.

Students attended either day 1 for bocce ball, or day 2 for soccer.

Also, while waiting for their events, athletes had many fun activities to choose from.

“Today, we’ve got our Bocce tournament for our elementary school kids. We also have a big Olympic Village over to my right. We’ve got a bunch of fun games,” said Katie DeVenuto, AIA Unified Sports Coordinator with Special Olympics of Arizona.

Yuma Elementary School District One video: Special Olympics AZ 2019

Gianna Zola, the health programs coordinator for Special Olympics of Arizona, said “We’re out here today doing free dental screenings for all the athletes and partners. They receive a checkup and they get education and a goodie bag to take away. We also connect them with a local referral for follow-up care.”

While the student athletes waited to participate in their events, school staff and volunteers led them in organized games and activities, including playing with parachutes, broom hockey and tee ball.

On the day the students participated in soccer, one student said, “The first rule of soccer is don’t use your hands.”

The student also said he was working on a new invention to help him make a better goal, and he’ll finish it when he grows up.

Another student said he enjoyed helping the athletes and taking part in activities with them at the event.