The City of Santa Maria has made some changes to how they will be supporting the Special Olympics in the area.
The Special Olympics of Southern California has been trying to return to a model where local programs are managed by local volunteers. These programs were volunteer-based when they began. The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department said it will help out for any Special Olympics events that occur in the city.
"The local things like area games that we used to host in the Santa Maria area out at Vandenburg, those programs will probably change pretty dramatically as far as what we're used to seeing," Director of the Santa Maris Recreation and Parks Department Alex Posada said.
Over 300 Special Olympics athletes in Santa Maria will be back in training starting July 6. All athletes who wish to compete must register through the San Luis Obispo office.
"We have a good group of local volunteers that we hope are going to step up and continue in their roles after COVID, and that they'll be able to create a whole new program model for our athletes," Posada said.
For more information on the programs or how to get involved, click here.
