Special Olympics

Not to be confused with Paralympic Games.

For global sports competitions organized by Special Olympics, see Special Olympics World Games.

Special Olympics

Founder(s)	Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Founded	1968
Location	1133 19th Street, N.W., Washington, DC, U.S. 20036-3604
Origins	Camp Shriver
Key people	Timothy Shriver (Chairman and CEO) J. Brady Lum (President and COO) Stephen M. Carter (Lead Director & Vice Chair) Bart Conner (Vice Chair) Professor William Alford (Treasurer)
Area served	International
Website	www.specialolympics.org

Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.7 million athletes in more than 170 countries. Special Olympics competitions are held every day, all over the world—including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to about 50,000 events a year.

Alternating between summer and winter, the Special Olympics World Games are held every two years. Often the Games are the largest sporting event to take place in the world during that year. The most recent World Games were the Special Olympics World Summer Games, held in Athens, Greece, from June 25 to July 4, 2011.

The next Special Olympics World Winter Games will be in PyeongChang, South Korea in Jan. 29-Feb. 6, 2013. The next Special Olympics World Summer Games will be in Los Angeles, Calif., USA in July 2015.

History

The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1968. Anne McGlone Burke, a physical education teacher with the Chicago Park District, began with the idea for a one-time Olympic-style athletic competition for people with special needs. Burke then approached Eunice Kennedy Shriver, head of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, to fund the event. Shriver encouraged Burke to expand on the idea and the JPK Foundation provided a grant of $25,000. More than 1,000 athletes from across the United States and Canada participated. At the July 1968 games, Shriver announced the formation of Special Olympics.

Shriver’s sister, Rosemary Kennedy, underwent a lobotomy in an effort by her father to cure her mental illness. The brain damage inflicted by the operation caused her to be permanently incapacitated. This disability is often credited as Shriver's inspiration to form the Special Olympics, but Shriver told The New York Times in 1995 that was not the case.

In June 1962, Eunice Kennedy Shriver started a day camp, known as Camp Shriver, for children with intellectual disabilities at her home in Potomac, Maryland. Using Camp Shriver as an example, Shriver promoted the concept of involvement in physical activity and competition opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Camp Shriver became an annual event, and the Kennedy Foundation (of which Shriver was executive vice president) gave grants to universities, recreation departments and community centers to hold similar camps.

In 1971, The U.S. Olympic Committee gave the Special Olympics official approval to use the name “Olympics”.

The first International Special Olympics Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA.

In 1988, the Special Olympics was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In 1997, Healthy Athletes became an official Special Olympics initiative, offering health information and screenings to Special Olympics athletes worldwide. By 2010, the Healthy Athletes program had given free health screenings and treatment to more than 1 million people with intellectual disabilities.

The crowd at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games Opening Ceremonies in Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland.

In 2003 the first Special Olympics World Summer Games to be held outside of the United States took place in Dublin Ireland. Approximately 7000 athletes from 150 countries competed over 18 disciplines. The Dublin games were also the first to have their own opening and closing ceremonies broadcast live, performed by President of Ireland Mary McAleese. Most significantly the 2003 games dramatically changed the perceptions and attitudes of society regarding the abilities and limitations of people with intellectual disabilities. The opening ceremony of the 2003 Games has been described by President of Ireland Mary McAleese as "a time when Ireland was at its superb best".

On October 30, 2004, President George W. Bush signed into law the "Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act," Public Law 108-406. The bill authorized funding for its Healthy Athletes, Education, and Worldwide Expansion programs. Co-sponsored by Representatives Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Harry Reid (D-NV), the bills were passed by unanimous consent in both chambers.

In July 2006, the first Special Olympics USA National Games were held at Iowa State University. Teams from all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated.

In April 2007, a large group of athletes and volunteers in the San Diego area broke away from the Special Olympics to start a new local group to serve athletes with developmental disabilities ages 5 through adult: SPORTS for Exceptional Athletes.

In 2008, the Special Olympics and Best Buddies International launched the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign to encourage individuals to stop using the word "retard" in everyday speech.

In 2010, the first Latin America Regional Special Olympics on U.S. soil was held in San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

In 2011, Senators Tom Harkin and Roy Blunt and Representatives Steny Hoyer and Peter King introduced the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act to authorize federal funding for Special Olympics Programs and Best Buddies Programs.

Symbols

The Special Olympics logo has gone through several changes in its lifetime. The "stick figure" is an abstract but humanistic form designed to convey the impression of movement and activity. The logo is a symbol of growth, confidence and joy among children and adults with disabilities who are learning coordination, mastering skills, participating in competitions and preparing themselves for richer, more productive lives. The spherical appearance of the logo is a representation of Special Olympics' global outreach.

Participation

More than 3.7 million athletes ages 2 1/2 and older are involved in Special Olympics sports training and competition in over 170 countries. The organization offers year-round training and competition in 32 Olympic-style summer and winter sports. People with intellectual disabilities are encouraged to join Special Olympics for the physical activity, which helps lower the rate of cardiovascular disease and obesity within the intellectually disabled. Also, they gain many emotional and psychological benefits, including self-confidence, social competence, building greater athletic skills and higher self esteem. The Motivations for joining the Special Olympics vary from one individual to the next yet, there are common themes among individuals and their families that encourage them to either participate or abstain from the Special Olympics.

Families can also get involved with the Special Olympics experience. Family members support their athletes to the best of their ability, which may involve attending or volunteering at the events. By being involved they can boost their athlete's self-esteem and will be looked at as a constant source of encouragement.

Millions of people around the world are involved with Special Olympics. Some are sponsors or donors. Many others are coaches, event volunteers and fans.

Coaches help the athletes be the best they can be regardless of ability—or disability. Special Olympics trains coaches through a Coaching Excellence program, which includes partnering with sports organizations. Special Olympics volunteers are introduced to lifetime friendships and great rewards.

There are many events that families and volunteers can get involved with, but the biggest event is the Law Enforcement Torch Run. The Torch Run involves police chiefs, police officers, secret service, FBI agents, military police, sheriffs, state troopers, prison guards, and other law enforcement personnel. They all get together to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics. Ahead of a Special Olympics competition, law enforcement officers carry the torch in intervals along a planned route covering most of the state or country to the site of the opening ceremonies of the chapter or Special Olympics World Summer or Winter Games. Then they then pass the torch to a Special Olympics athlete and together they run up to the cauldron and light it, signifying the beginning of the games.

The Special Olympics athlete's oath is "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

Sports offered

Special Olympics has over 32 Olympic-type individual and team sports that provide meaningful training and competition opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. And a few are listed below:

• Alpine Skiing
• Aquatics
• Athletics (Track and Field)
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Bocce
• Bowling
• Cross-Country Skiing
• Cycling
• Equestrian Sports
• Figure Skating
• Floor Hockey
• Football (Soccer)
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Handball
• Judo
• Powerlifting
• Sailing
• Short-track Speedskating
• Snowboarding
• Snowshoeing
• Softball
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball

These are only a few sports that the Special Olympics has to offer, there are many more recognized and demonstration sports, including Open Water Swimming, Kayaking, Floorball, Cricket, Netball and Beach Volleyball. Availability of sports can depend on location. Special Olympic sports also vary because in the winter time the sports played are rarely the same as the sports played in the summer.

In the Young Athletes program, children ages 2–7 play simple sports and games. The focus is on fun activities that are important to mental and physical growth.

In 1968, track and field and swimming were the first two official sports offered by Special Olympics. As in the Olympics, events are introduced in training and then added to the competitive schedule, and from there the list of sports and events continued to grow.

Famous supporters

The Special Olympics movement has attracted the support of a number of international sportsmen and other celebrities,including Bono, Joe Jonas, Derek Poundstone, Padraig Harrington, Jackie Chan, Zhang Ziyi, Yao Ming, Nadia Comaneci, Bart Conner, Vanessa Williams, and Colin Farrell.

Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Quincy Jones took part in a 2003 Global Youth Summit at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland. U.S. President Bill Clinton took part in a Global Youth Summit during the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

In 2011, Princess Charlene of Monaco, herself a former Olympian, was named as a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics.

See also

• Flame of Hope
• Law Enforcement Torch Run
• Olympic Games
• Paralympic Games
• Deaflympics
• Special Olympics Canada
• Special Olympics Great Britain
• Special Olympics USA
• Special Olympics World Games
• Special Hockey
• Motivations for joining the Special Olympics

Further reading

• Kessler, Ronald. The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded. Warner Books, 1996. ISBN 0-446-60384-8.

External links

• Special Olympics
• Special Olympics Live Internet video coverage of the 2009 Special Olympics games.
• Special Olympics Australia