SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organisation for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and competition to about 5 million athletes and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. The idea was the brainchild of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who in 1962 started a day camp — Camp Shriver — for children with intellectual disabilities at her home in Potomac, Maryland. The camp was a response to the concern that children with special needs had very little chance to take part in organised sport. As head of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, Kennedy Shriver went on to promote physical activity and wider opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and take part in events ranging from athletics, badminton, basketball, bocce, bowling, cricket and cycling to gymnastics, judo, powerlifting, roller skating, skiing, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. Alongside the physical and health gains, participation brings strong psychological benefits — higher self-confidence, self-esteem and social competence.

History of Special Olympics

Camp Shriver became an annual event, and the Kennedy Foundation funded universities, recreation departments and community centres to run similar camps. The first World Games were held on 20 July 1968 in Chicago, with about 1000 athletes from the United States and Canada. International participation then grew: in 2003 the first Summer Games outside the United States were held in Dublin, Ireland, with 7000 athletes from 150 countries. The first World Winter Games were held in 1977 at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The World Games alternate between Summer and Winter editions in two-year cycles. The Special Olympics was officially recognised by the IOC in 1988; unlike the Paralympics, however, the Special Olympics World Games are not held in the same year as, or together with, the Olympic Games.

Logo and Oath

The Special Olympics logo is based on the sculpture Joy and Happiness to All the Children of the World by Zurab Tsereteli, adopted in 1979; it is a symbol of growth, confidence and joy among children and adults with disabilities as they learn coordination, master skills and prepare for richer, more productive lives. The athlete's oath, first used by Eunice Kennedy Shriver at the inaugural international games in Chicago in 1968, is: 'Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.'

Programmes run by Special Olympics around the world

• Young Athletes Programme — an inclusive sport-and-play programme for young people (ages 2–7), with and without intellectual disabilities, focusing on activities important to mental and physical growth, such as games that develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Unified Sports Programme — brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities as teammates, on the principle that training and playing together build friendship and understanding; more than 1.4 million people worldwide now take part. …