The LA84 Foundation held its 4th annual summit last week with the theme “Pathways to Inclusion: Physically and Intellectually Disabled Athletes in Youth Sports.”
Master of Ceremonies Tamara Christopherson, President Southern California Olympians and Paralympians, and Anita DeFrantz, President of the LA84 Foundation, welcomed many of the sports leaders from throughout Southern California who gathered for the annual summit.
Guest speakers included Patrick McClenahan, President and CEO of the 2015 Special Olympic World Games, who served as the function’s Keynote Speaker.
John Aguirre, Commissioner of the CIF LA City Section, joined a panel that included Muffy Davis, Stephanie Davis, Bill Shumard and Patrick Escobar as they discussed “Programs that Create Opportunities.”
Aguirre spoke about the groundbreaking news from last spring when the CIF LA City Section Board of Managers approved “Inclusive Sports” as part of the 2016 Track and Field championships. The CIF-LACS is the first Section in the State to do so.
Shortly thereafter, Olympians Rafer Johnson and Cobi Jones, and ESPN Special Olympics analyst Dustin Plunkett inspired us all with their stories on “Special Olympics: A Personal Perspective.”
The summit concluded with a panel of Annette K. Lynch, Dan Regan and Tina Syer discussing “Coaching Young Athletes with Special Needs.”
A very special thank you goes out to Wayne Wilson, Vice President of Education Services for the LA84 Foundation, for hosting a wonderful event once again.
Video of Commissioner John Aguirre sharing his thoughts-
Photo gallery-
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