LOS ANGELES, USA — Athletes and team officials of Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) yesterday met James T Butts, the mayor of Inglewood, California, ahead of the 2015 World Summer Games here.

Members of the Jamaican delegation also shared court with basketball star Paul Pierce, who engaged athletes in friendly games.

The delegation will be involved in host town activities until tomorrow. These activities include meeting several state officials and celebrities and exposure to local culture. The athletes will also have the opportunity to train and acclimatise ahead of competition, which gets underway on Sunday.

The first of three SOJ groups arrived in Los Angeles via Miami and Dallas on Tuesday.

That group, consisting mostly of athletes and officials of the unified football team, had long wait at the Los Angeles International Airport as organisers sorted out transportation to the Welcome Centre hosted at Loyola Marymount University (LMU).

Upon arriving there, they were fed and entertained before leaving for the host town.

The other Jamaican athletes and officials who make up the 80-odd strong delegation were originally scheduled to arrive late on Tuesday, but due to travel delays did not reach until yesterday.

Jamaica, consisting of 69 athletes, are set to participate in aquatics, basketball, badminton, volleyball, football, female futsal, athletics and bocce.

The Games is set to be declared open on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which staged the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games. A number of notable figures are expected to be on hand, including First Lady Michelle Obama.

United States President Barack Obama and his wife are honorary co-chairs for the 2015 Summer Games.

Closing ceremony for the Los Angeles Games is scheduled for August 2.

The aim of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.