NORTHRIDGE : Students Share Day of Fun and Games

Winning may not be everything, but 9-year-old Sal Alaimo made his intentions clear Thursday as he prepared to compete in the fourth annual mini-Olympics at Andasol Elementary School in Northridge.

“I’ll Dust You,” said a scrawled sign hung next to the American flag on the back of his wheelchair as he took his mark for the electric wheelchair 50-yard dash.

Nearly 200 students, many of them disabled, took part in the games at Andasol, one of many Los Angeles Unified School District schools in the San Fernando Valley that integrate disabled students with those without disabilities. Events included running and wheelchair races, the long jump, a softball throw and an agility course.

But educators said competing takes a back seat to having fun.

“If they don’t show citizenship in the classroom during the year, then they can’t participate in the games,” said teacher Doug Howard, who has been a co-organizer of the mini-Olympics since they began four years ago. “This brings everyone a little closer for this one day of the year.”

For Emanuel Lin, 11, being able to compete is what it’s all about.

“Even though I’m handicapped I can still compete in the different activities,” said the fifth-grader who finished second in the electric wheelchair 50-yard dash and agility course.

Sal, making good on his “I’ll Dust You,” prediction, collected a first-place ribbon on the agility course and took a third in the electric wheelchair 50-yard dash.

“I gotta tell my mom,” he said after the race. “I gotta tell my mom.”