Providing the absolute best track & field meet for "Special” athletes since 1982

In February 1983, the North Miami Beach Optimist Club held its first sanctioned Special Olympics Miami-Dade County “Mini-Meet” under the Special Olympics banner. The initial event was staged behind North Miami Senior High School on a makeshift track with 30 Special Olympians participating and Optimist Club members serving as the volunteer escorts. The games were a resounding success, and thus became an annual event.

The event was moved in 1984 to North Miami Athletic Stadium, with a regulation track, long jump pits and seating for over 5,000 spectators. The Club invited additional Group Homes and Special Ed classes from Miami-Dade County Schools, and local senior high schools and Colleges for students served as volunteer “Huggers.”

In the ensuing years, numbers of Special Olympic athletes and student volunteers swelled with total attendance in the thousands. The event was recognized by Special Olympics, as well as the community.

Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders, University of Miami Cheerleading Squad and the Ibis, began attending year after year to add excitement to the games. Soon, Miami Heat Dancers, Billy the Marlin, Florida Marlin’s Mermaids, and the Florida Panthers Ice Cats joined in the fun!

In 1987, the first “Honorary Chairman” presided over the Opening Ceremony -- the University of Miami Hurricane National Champion football team! Continuing the tradition, a local “Honorary Chairman” has overseen the ceremonies every year, including sports legends: Jeff Conine, Bernie Kosar, Mark “Super” Duper, Earl Morrall, Gino Torretta, Randy Shannon; and others.

In 1989, our chairman’s teenage son passed away in 1989 due to cancer. To honor him, the Games were re-named “The David L. Singer Memorial Special Olympics”.

This led to the creation in 1991 of the David L. Singer Memorial Foundation, a 501(C)(3) IRS approved Corporation to entirely fund the Games.

The David L. Singer Memorial Foundation also provides funding to help cover expenses of sending our winning Athletes to the Florida Special Olympics State Games for a chance to win Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals!

By 1998, the event status was finally raised from "Mini-Meet" to "Qualifying," allowing our participating athletes to attend the State Games. In doing so, our dedicated team become the first volunteer group in America to be sanctioned to run an official Special Olympics event.

This little event that started decades ago behind North Miami Beach High with 30 Athletes and a handful Optimist Club volunteers, has become a premiere annual Special Olympics event with hundreds of Athletes and Volunteers (many from local high schools and colleges).

Many of the founding Optimist Club members still volunteer today -- along with their children and grandchildren!

In 2003, a Special Olympics Leadership Conference in Orlando selected our program as one of the Top 3 volunteer programs in the United States, and utilized our model to assist in outsourcing similar events to volunteer groups across the country.

The David L. Singer Memorial Foundation will continue to dedicate time and resources to providing the best Track & Field Meet for these “Special” athletes, as well as continuing to break down old stereotypes that exist with our mentally and physically challenged citizens.