Less than two weeks from now, 40 or so Bahamian athletes, coaches and chaperones will arrive in Los Angeles to participate in the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, taking place from July 25 – August 2.

We’re trying to get together as many Bahamians (and “honourary” Bahamians) as possible to come out and support our athletes.

The Bahamian team arrives in L.A. on July 21 and will be hosted by the City of Costa Mesa until July 24, when they’ll head to the athletes’ village. (Unfortunately, because of the number of World Games delegations arriving July 21, LAX is not permitting “welcoming committees” at the airport.)

The City of Costa Mesa has a number of fun events planned for our Bahamian delegation, including a barbeque lunch, an Angels of Anaheim baseball game and an afternoon at the Orange County Fair, where they’ll be honoured at a special ceremony.

Comprised of athletes from Abaco, Grand Bahama and New Providence, Team Bahamas will compete in aquatics and athletics (at USC’s Uytengsu Aquatic Center and Loker Stadium/Cromwell Field respectively), bocce (at L.A. Convention Center), bowling (at Lucky Strike at L.A. Live), open-water swimming (at Alamitos Beach at Long Beach) and tennis (at UCLA’s Los Angeles Tennis Center).

I don’t yet have the specific dates on which our Bahamian athletes will compete, but I’ll post the schedule here as soon as possible. All World Games sporting events are free to attend.

In addition to attending the Games themselves, here are some other ways you can support our Bahamian delegation:

Attend the opening ceremony, closing ceremony or awards ceremonies to cheer on Team Bahamas. We’re trying to get a group together to attend the opening ceremony on July 25 — if you’d like to join us, let me know as soon as you can.

The City of Costa Mesa is looking for a few volunteers to accompany the Bahamian delegation to the O.C. Fair on Thursday, July 23 — lunch and your fair ticket will be provided. To volunteer, contact Jennifer Christ at the City of Costa Mesa at jennifer.christ@costamesaca.gov.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, please plan to join us in supporting and cheering on Team Bahamas. I’ll post an update as soon as I’ve got dates and times for the various events. Hope to see you at the Games!

All photographs courtesy of Special Olympics Bahamas.

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