Berkeley resident Chris Corr-Barberis carried the torch at the opening ceremonies of the Northern California Special Olympics Softball Tournament on Saturday. The tournament, which brought together some 300 athletes from throughout the region, was held at Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek.
It was a special day for Chris, as he contributed an RBI and a run in the morning and added two runs in the afternoon helping his team, the East Bay Buffaloes, overpower the Columbus T-Birds in a double header.
The wins earned the Buffaloes the gold medal in their division.
Coach Katherine O’Brien, a former Special Olympics athlete herself, who also lives in Berkeley, said: “It was great to see Chris do so well in his first year in Special Olympics — we certainly hope he will be back in softball next year and perhaps in other sports in the meantime.”
A further Berkeley touch was added by Assistant Coach Alex White, who has just entered his freshman year at Cal.
Special Olympics of Northern California serves 20,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from the Oregon border to Monterey and Tulare counties. The organization offers opportunities in 11 sports for athletes as young as 8 years old to… no age limit. The next national Special Olympics will be held in Seattle in 2018.
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