Special Olympics World Games

The mascot for the Shanghai 2007 Special Olympics, displayed in Pudong in front of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.

The Special Olympics World Games are an international sporting competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities, organized by Special Olympics.

Like the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, the Special Olympics World Games include summer and winter versions, and are held every four years. The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1968. The first International Special Olympics Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA.

In 1991, the name was officially changed from International Special Olympics Summer or Winter Games to Special Olympics World Summer or Winter Games.

The most recent Special Olympics World Summer Games -- held June 25-July 4, 2011 in Athens, Greece -- involved more than 6,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from over 170 countries.

The next Special Olympics global event will be the World Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, starting in Jan. 2013.

The next Special Olympics World Summer Games are set for Los Angeles, Calif. These July 2015 games will be the first Special Olympics World Summer Games held in the U.S. in 16 years.

Hosts

Special Olympics World Games hosts

Year	Summer Special Olympics World Games			Winter Special Olympics World Games
	No.	Host	Date(s)	No.	Host	Date(s)
1968	I	Chicago, United States	July 20
1970	II	Chicago, United States	August 13 – 15
1972	III	Los Angeles, United States	August 13 – 18
1975	IV	Mount Pleasant, United States	August 8 – 13
1977				I	Steamboat Springs, United States	February 5 – 11
1979	V	Brockport, United States	August 8 – 13
1981				II	Smugglers' Notch & Stowe, United States	March 8 – 13
1983	VI	Baton Rouge, United States	July 12 – 18
1985				III	Park City, United States	March 24 – 29
1987	VII	Notre Dame, Indiana, United States	July 31 – August 1
1989				IV	Lake Tahoe & Reno, United States	April 1 – 8
1991	VIII	Minneapolis & Saint Paul, United States	July 19 – 27
1993				V	Salzburg & Schladming, Austria	March 20 – 27
1995	IX	New Haven, United States	July 1 – 9
1997				VI	Collingwood & Toronto, Canada	February 1 – 8
1999	X	Chapel Hill, Durham & Raleigh, United States	June 26 – July 4
2001				VII	Anchorage, United States	March 4 – 11
2003	XI	Dublin, Ireland	June 21 – 29
2005				VIII	Nagano, Japan	February 26 – March 4
2007	XII	Shanghai, China	October 2 – 11
2009				IX	Boise, United States(1)	February 6 – 13
2011	XIII	Athens, Greece	June 25 – July 4
2013				X	Pyeongchang, South Korea	January 29 - February 6
2015	XIV	Los Angeles, United States	July 2015

¹ Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was originally selected to host the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The city, however, later decided to withdraw from hosting, and Boise, Idaho, was selected to host the event instead.

Official Summer Sports

• Aquatics
• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Bocce
• Bowling
• Cycling
• Equestrian
• Football (Soccer)
• Golf
• Gymnastics-artistic and rhythmic
• Handball
• Judo
• Powerlifting
• Roller Skating
• Sailing
• Softball
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Official Winter Sports

• Alpine Skiing
• Cross-country skiing
• Figure Skating
• Floor Hockey
• Short-track Speedskating
• Snowboarding
• Snowshoeing

Recognized Sports

• Cricket
• Floorball
• Kayaking
• Netball

Demonstration Sports

• Open Water Swimming
• Beach Volleyball

See also

• Camp Shriver
• Special Olympics
• Deaflympics
• Paralympic Games
• Olympic Games
• Ancient Olympics
• Flame of Hope

External links

• Special Olympics