PACOIMA : Youths Compete at Events ‘Any Kid Could Do’

Bending his back as far as it would go, 13-year-old Hector Garcia on Wednesday managed to slip his body under a bar held nearly three feet from the ground.

When it was over, he became the proud recipient of a gold medal for the limbo, one of several events planned during the Ninth Grade Olympics at Maclay Middle School in Pacoima.

“It’s kind of hard when you stick your back out all the way down,” said Garcia, who noted that it was the first time that he had ever tried it.

Students at the school decided to stage their own version of the Olympics last year after viewing the winter games held in Albertville, France. But instead of holding traditional sporting events, the students prove their mettle with such feats as watermelon eating and bubble-gum blowing.

“We couldn’t have gymnastics and all that. These are things any kid could do,” said Maria Soldevilla, a combination seventh- and eighth-grade teacher in charge of the event.

The top three achievers win paper medallions and the envy of onlookers, who gather during lunchtime on the ninth-grade lawn for the day’s event. The games run through next week.

“It gives you something to do at lunch,” said Davon Pearson, 14, who dropped out of the limbo contest after a few passes under the bar.