These Little Athletes didn’t let any Obstacles Stand in their way

Marissa Marinello, 3, suspiciously eyed the blue canvas crawl tunnel at the start of the obstacle course as her father, Tom, egged her on to give it a try.

But it wasn’t until she saw the head of her preschool teacher, Dora Arias, peeking through the other side that the toddler gained the courage to crawl through.

In quick succession she hopped through Hula-Hoops, somersaulted across a tumbling mat, crawled under a sawhorse, tiptoed over a balance beam, threw bean bags at a clown and rode a tricycle to the finish line.

But when asked to name her favorite part of the obstacle course, Marissa quickly replied: “Miss Dora!”

Marissa was one of about 150 children, ages 2 through 5, who participated in the 11th annual Mini Olympics at the John D. Calas Sr. Memorial Park in Carson Saturday morning.

The children--many of whom were cajoled into participating by parents who followed them around with cameras and minicams--also kicked balls, ran bases, dunked basketballs, jumped tires and even paddled on floats across a wading pool.

Although most of the children were eager to join in the games, some were reluctant to participate, and one girl cried halfway through every event.

The city-sponsored event was organized by the Carson Community Center’s Early Childhood Program for preschool children, with instructors acting as coaches. The games were open to all children, however, for an entrance fee of $4, or $7, which included a souvenir T-shirt featuring a gingerbread man stepping through tires. No prizes were awarded in the non-competitive games, but each child received a white ribbon and an official certificate of participation.

“The point is to give them a positive experience that builds their self-esteem without there being any winner or losers,” preschool instructor Rita Manley said. “The way we do it, everyone is a winner.”

Although these Olympics were supposed to be non-competitive, a few parents couldn’t help feeling proud of their children’s achievements.

After watching his 3-year-old son, Quentan, outrun a bigger child on the obstacle course, Carson resident Mark Jordan noted with satisfaction, “He’s really pretty good for his age!”