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The following overview is designed to provide you with "Special Olympics at a Glance."
Additional detailed information about Special Olympics is available in our About Us section and throughout this Web site.
To provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities by giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
Worldwide growth in the number of athletes from 1 million to 2 million by 2005; promote global athlete leadership and dedicate the movement to empowerment and dignity, not to charity; change attitudes around the world about people with intellectual disabilities to emphasize potential, ability and acceptance.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver organized the First International Special Olympics Games at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1968. The concept was born in the early 1960s when Shriver started a day camp for people with intellectual disabilities. She saw that individuals with intellectual disabilities were far more capable in sports and physical activities than many experts thought.
Special Olympics athletes must be at least 8 years old and identified by an agency or professional as having one of the following conditions: intellectual disabilities, cognitive delays as measured by formal assessment, or significant learning or vocational problems due to cognitive delay that require, or have required, specially designed instruction.
Special Olympics and the Paralympics are two separate and distinct organizations with specific eligibility requirements. Note the differences between the two.
There are more than 200 Programs in more than 150 countries. Special Olympics divides Programs into seven regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, East Asia, Europe/Eurasia, Latin America, Middle East/North Africa and North America.
Special Olympics offers 26 Olympic-type sports.
Athletes are divided into competition divisions based upon their ability, age and sex. Competition divisions are structured so that athletes compete against other athletes of similar ability in equitable divisions. A fair and equitable division is one in which all participants, based on performance records, have a reasonable chance to excel. This definition also applies to team competition.
This initiative, started in 1987, brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities of similar age and ability to train and compete on the same teams. Unified Sports fosters the integration of persons with intellectual disabilities into school and community sports programs.
Special Olympics World Games are held every two years, alternating between Summer Games and Winter Games. The 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Dublin, Ireland, in June. The 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games will be held in Nagano, Japan, in February.
Special Olympics initiatives enhance the mission of Special Olympics and offer athletes the chance to learn and grow as coaches, officials, spokespeople and leaders; improve athletes' health and fitness; and encourage school-age youth to celebrate differences and break down barriers.
- Athlete Leadership Programs: Provides opportunities to explore leadership opportunities (other than as a competitor) within Special Olympics, including serving on Boards of Directors, or as spokespersons, coaches, officials, volunteers and donors, among others.
- Family Leadership & Support: Special Olympics Family Leadership and Support offers families a variety of ways to become more supported, connected, honored and knowledgable.
- Healthy Athletes: The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® initiative is designed to help athletes improve their health and fitness. Its mission is to improve each athlete's ability to train and compete in Special Olympics. The five disciplines in Special Olympics Healthy Athletes are: Special Smiles® (dental); Special Olympics-Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes® (vision); Healthy Hearing (hearing); FUNfitness (flexibility, strength, balance); and Health Promotion (disease prevention).
- Special Olympics Get Into It™ (SOGII): A service learning curriculum developed to introduce Special Olympics and explain intellectual disabilities to youth and encourage them to become involved in the movement.
An international series of torch relays run by law enforcement officers, leading up to each state/province's or nation's Special Olympics Summer Games. It is the largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle for Special Olympics. Every two years, law enforcement officers comprise a "Final Leg Team" which carries the Special Olympics "Flame of Hope" into the Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics World Games.
Disburses proceeds from the sales of the A Very Special Christmas series of holiday music albums as grants to Special Olympics Programs for projects that encourage growth, enhance the quality of a Program's services, develop new initiatives or provide creative new ways to advance the Special Olympics movement.
President and CEO Bruce Pasternack leads a senior management team that includes John Dow, Chief Administrative Officer; and Drake Turrentine, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Board of Directors. Timothy Shriver serves as Chairman of the Board. There are other seven regions lead by different managements; MENA Managing Director Eng. Ayman Aly A. Wahab, Africa Managing Director David Mutambara, Asia Pacific Managing Director Raj Bajaaj, East Asia Managing Director Dicken Yung, Europe/Eurasia Managing Director Mike Smith, Latin America Managing Director Dennis Brueggemann and North America Managing Director Jim Schmutz.
Regional Office Contact Information
Address: 35 Gezieret El Arab St., Mohandeseen, Giza, Egypt
Tel.: +20 2 3455510/2
Fax: +20 2 3455514
E-mail: info@somena.org |