North state schools come together for yearly track meet

OROVILLE - A rainbow of T-shirts, each color representing a different participating high school from Butte County to Shasta, were donned by more than 800 participants Friday for the 24th Cami Anderson Memorial School Site Track and Field Meet at Harrison Stadium in Oroville.

The event sees competitors from kindergartners through 22-year-olds and is conducted through a partnership between the Butte County Office of Education and Adapted Physical Education.

Previously called the Special Education School Site Track Meet, the event was renamed this year in honor of Anderson, who oversaw the planning in years past. Deputy Superintendent of the Butte County Office of Education Michelle Zevely recalled the work Anderson did to make the track meet happen.

"It takes a lot of planning, and this year has been a little difficult for us because the person who always organized this, Cami Anderson, has passed away and so we're very excited to honor her and her legacy, to name this event after her," Zevely said.

The field was filled with various games and activities like disc throwing, a large, colorful parachute, various forms of bowling and golf and more. Races were set up on the track and contestants lined up for their turn to compete.

"There are a lot of great events," Zevely said. "There are running events, jumping events, throwing events and then we have different stations like a sensory station," Zevely said. "We have an Olympic village with all sorts of activities for students so students don't always have to be competing in an event. They can be playing in one of the activities."

Family and friends were also welcome at the meet and were set up on the sidelines to take pictures and cheer for their athletes. Jennifer Hysmith, of Durham, said she was excited to see her daughter participate for the third year.

"She loves it," Hysmith said. "This is her favorite time of year."

When asked what her daughter's favorite event was, Hysmith said, "anything running."

The event sees more than 150 volunteers as well as personnel from the Office of Education who not only prepare for the track meet but also manage it and oversee its success.

Travis Souders, communications officer with the Butte County Office of Education, said multiple other organizations are also involved and donate time and energy to the event.

"This is a super popular event," Souders said. "It's definitely one of our flagship special education events."

The namesake

For 23 years, adapted physical education teacher Cami Anderson spearheaded the track meet.

A month before Anderson passed away in February, she received the Teacher of the Year award from the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

Going forward, Anderson will be honored for her impact on the community through the renaming of the event.

"She had done this work for more than 20 years; she was one of our area's biggest champions of adapted P.E., of inclusion, of making events like this accessible for everybody, no matter (their) ability level," Souders said. "She loved this event. It's a celebration of what she stood for, which was having inclusion and accessibility for everybody."

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