Special Olympics teams compete at UCSB

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

The Special Olympics of Santa Barbara held its 23rd Divisional Basketball Tournament, also known as the Gary Cunningham Tournament, this week for teams coming from all over Southern California.

The event took place Sunday at the UCSB Thunderdome and involved more than 600 athletes, coaches and volunteers.

The basketball competition was started in the late 1990s by Anita Ho and has always been

Santa Barbara chapter hosts Gary Cunningham Tournament

played at the UCSB Thunderdome. Since then, there have been many supporters of the competition. From the very beginning, law enforcement and the Law Enforcement Torch Run have been supporters and partners of the Special Olympics and this tournament, participating in the Opening Ceremony and awarding medals to participants. Local sponsors of this year’s tournament included Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, George Ben Page Foundation, La Centra Sumerlin Foundation and the Ann Jackson Foundation.

Fyi

To get involved with Special Olympics of Santa Barbara as a volunteer or supporter, or to learn how to become an athlete with Special Olympics of Santa Barbara, visit sosc.org/santabarbara. Special Olympics of Santa Barbara is looking for interns at its office.Those who are interested can contact Tim Philibosian at tphilibosian@sosc.org or 805-884-1516.

In 2020, the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There has not been a competition since then, until this year. On Sunday, more than 20 teams participated in the tournament. In addition to Santa Barbara, they came from Santa Ynez, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Simi Valley, Conejo Valley, Burbank, Bakersfield and Santa Clarita.

Tim Philibosian, the Special Olympics of Santa Barbara sports manager, shared two of his favorite highlights from Sunday’s activities.

The first one was the Parade of Athletes. “The Parade of Athletes opened the event, where each team was announced to thunderous applause, and then they proceeded to walk in front of friends, family, and supporters while high-fiving community leaders, firefighters and members of law enforcement,” he told the News-Press. “It was so powerful