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About 300 chicken-dancing athletes, volunteers, and teachers filled Acker and Shurmer gyms Friday to conclude the eighth annual Adapted Physical Education Sports Day.
The day kicked off with a performance by the Corning High School marching band and drill team at 9:45 a.m. From there, participants from kindergarten through 12th grade with varying physical abilities played games such as wheelchair rope pull, body bowling and golf putting.
Many different ability levels and ages were represented, said Rebecca Lytle, program coordinator for the adapted physical education program.
"There's something for everyone," she said. "If you asked two different kids what their favorite activity was, you would get two different answers."
Adapted physical education students came from up to an hour and a half away, and from six different counties, Lytle said.
Christina Carter and Tina Corona are teachers' aides at Enterprise High School in Redding. This was the high school's first year attending the event, they said.
"Everything was great," Carter said. "It's hard to narrow it down to their favorite part. They just had such a blast."
Most activities were made for any of the athletes, but many were specialized, according to the list of events.
Laughs echoed through Shurmer Gym as the students played volleyball adapted for the deaf. The game was followed by goal ball for the visually impaired, wheelchair team handball and wheelchair power soccer, for which there were extra wheelchairs on hand for other students who wanted to play.
After the games, the students excitedly returned to Acker Gym to play adrenaline- and sack-lunch-fueled rounds of Plinko, pendulum bowling and other games.
The climbing wall was open through the entire event for anybody who wished to climb.
The event closed with volunteers dressed as The Village People urging the entire crowd to do the "YMCA" and the chicken dance. As the smiling, face-painted students made their way out, it was clear the day was a success.
Junior Charlotte Honciano, a kinesiology major, worked at the event for a class.
"I think my favorite part is the children's reactions," she said. "It is so cute. It brightens their day."
Kelsey Eidbo can be reached at keidbo@theorion.com
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