LBCC Athletics Partners with Special Olympics Southern California

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Ivan Parrot and Dr. Mike Muñoz

Long Beach City College Athletics is proud of its history of excellence. Collectively, the Vikings hold 16 National Championships, a state-record 93 California Community College State Championships, hundreds of conference titles, and over 20 Football Bowl Game appearances. As a significant milestone of the LBCC Facilities Master Plan, the Outdoor Kinesiology Labs encompassed the construction of Building W – Aquatic Center.  The new Aquatic Center project includes the construction of a new 65-meter x 25 yd. pool and adjacent training facilities, locker rooms, and team rooms. The new Aquatic Center project provides a modern, state-of-the-art complex to meet the needs of the instructional Kinesiology program as well as intercollegiate athletics, but equally as important the needs of our community.

In February of 2023, LBCC Athletics will be partnering with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) by providing access to all opening the new LBCC Aquatic Center as the new home of their aquatics program. In a recent newsletter put out by SOSC they highlighted this partnership and the special athlete that made it happen! Please see the SOSC article here:

“It started with a SOSC athlete. Ivan Parrott plays several sports. His favorite is competing for the swim team. For years, the team trained out of a local high school, but, due to renovations, they no longer had a facility. Ivan was concerned that the program would be canceled forever. His response – he gathered his confidence and applied his leadership skills and started telling people about his team and their need for a pool. He talked to Gina Mascaro, Director of Athletic Fundraising and Development with the Long Beach City College Foundation. She was inspired by Ivan to make some connections, and soon LBCC formed a partnership with SOSC. Gratefully, the swim team will dip their toes in the brand new, state-of-the-art Olympics-sized pool in February 2023. The partnership will also provide access to training venues for soccer, volleyball, and track. The SOSC Campaign for Inclusion and Acceptance is about finding voices like Ivan’s to build partnerships that bring the Special Olympics movement to more communities.”

Long Beach City College is elated to welcome Special Olympics Southern California and is committed to providing equitable student learning and community benefits by supporting programs and support services to our diverse communities.

For more information regarding LBCC Athletics please contact Gina Mascaro, gmascaro@lbcc.edu.

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