Special Olympics World Games

The Special Olympics World Games are an international sporting competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities, organized by the IOC-recognised Special Olympics organisation.

Special Olympics World Games
The crowd at the Special Olympics World Games Opening Ceremony in Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland, 2003
StatusActive
GenreSporting event
Date(s)Various
FrequencyEvery two years
CountryVarious
Inaugurated1968 (1968) (summer)
1977 (1977) (winter)
The mascot for the 2007 Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, displayed in Pudong in front of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.

Principles

Although local Special Olympics events and competitions are held around the world every day, the World Games are flagship events. The goal is to showcase the skills and accomplishments of people with intellectual disabilities on a global stage.[1] The World Games feature more than a week of competitions involving thousands of athletes. Through media coverage of the Games, the stories and achievements of children and adults with intellectual disabilities are made known to millions of people worldwide.[1]

Special Olympics World Games take place every two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games, a schedule similar to the Olympics and Paralympics. Attracting as many as 350,000 volunteers and coaches, plus several thousands of athletes, these World Games can be the world's largest sporting event of the year.[1][2]

Special Olympics athletes can compete in 32 Olympic-style summer or winter sports. The athletes are adults and children with intellectual disabilities who can range from gifted, world-class competitors to average athletes to those with limited physical ability. It's a fundamental rule of Special Olympics competitions that athletes are matched up according to their ability and age. This “divisioning” process is an effort to make every competition fair, competitive and exciting for athletes as well as fans.[3]

History

The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, US, in 1968, while the first International Special Olympics Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, US. In 1991, the name was officially changed from International Special Olympics Summer/Winter Games to Special Olympics World Summer/Winter Games.[4]

In 2011, Special Olympics World Summer Games were held on June 25 – July 4 in Athens, Greece, involving 6,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 170 countries.[2]

In 2013, the Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in PyeongChang, South Korea from Jan. 29 – Feb. 5.The Host Town program, in which families host Special Olympics athletes from around the world to help them acclimate to the host country and customs, began on Jan. 26, 2013.[5]

In 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games .[6] These games were the first Special Olympics World Summer Games held in the United States in 16 years since the 1999 Summer Games held in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Graz and Schladming in Styria, Austria. This marked a return: Salzburg and Schladming, Austria hosted the fifth Special Olympics World Winter Games in 1993. These were the first Special Olympics World Games held outside the United States. The 2017 World Winter Games were held on March 14–25, 2017.[7]

Kazan, Russia will host the next World Winter Games between, January 22–28 2022. Originally to be held in Åre and Östersund, Sweden however the Swedish Government withdrawn it hosting rights in December 2019 due to financial problems.[8]

The recent Special Olympics World Summer Games were held March 14–21, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. These were the first Special Olympics World Games to be held in the Middle East/North Africa region.[9] Competitions were held in 24 sports.

Berlin, Germany will host the next World Summer Games between June 16–25, 2023. It will mark the first time that Germany has ever hosted the Special Olympics World Games.[10]

Hosts
Special Olympics World Games hosts
Year Summer Special Olympics World Games Winter Special Olympics World Games
No.HostDate(s)No.HostDate(s)
19681 Chicago, United StatesJuly 20 – August 3
19702 Chicago, United StatesAugust 13 – 15
19723 Los Angeles, United StatesAugust 13 – 18
19754 Mount Pleasant, United StatesAugust 8 – 13
19771 Steamboat Springs, United StatesFebruary 5 – 11
19795 Brockport, United StatesAugust 8 – 13
19812 Smugglers' Notch and Stowe, United StatesMarch 8 – 13
19836 Baton Rouge, United StatesJuly 12 – 18
19853 Park City, United StatesMarch 24 – 29
19877 Notre Dame and South Bend, United StatesJuly 31 – August 1
19894 Lake Tahoe and Reno, United StatesApril 1 – 8
19918 Minneapolis and Saint Paul, United StatesJuly 19 – 27
19935 Salzburg and Schladming, AustriaMarch 20 – 27
19959 New Haven, United StatesJuly 1 – 9
19976 Collingwood and Toronto, CanadaFebruary 1 – 8
199910 Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, United StatesJune 26 – July 4
20017 Anchorage, United StatesMarch 4 – 11
200311 Dublin, IrelandJune 21 – 29
20058 Nagano, JapanFebruary 26 – March 4
200712 Shanghai, ChinaOctober 2 – 11
20099 Boise, United States(1)February 6 – 13
201113 Athens, GreeceJune 25 – July 4
201310 Pyeongchang, KoreaJanuary 29 – February 5
201514 Los Angeles, United StatesJuly 25 – August 2
201711 Graz and Schladming, AustriaMarch 14 – 25
201915 Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesMarch 14 – 21
202212 Kazan, Russia (2)January 22 – 28
202316 Berlin, GermanyJune 16 – 25
202513

1 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was originally selected to host the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games.[11] Due to financial problems and the constant delay in reconstruction of the venues of the 1984 Winter Olympics, the city gave up hosting the Games, and Boise, Idaho,was invited to host the event.[12]

2 It was planned that Åre and Östersund, Sweden would host the 2021 World Winter Games between February 2 to 13, 2021.[13] However, on December 20, 2019, it was announced that the Swedish Paralympic Committee vetoed the necessary financing for the continuity of the event in the country,invalidating a promise made during the bid process, Special Olympics studied to delay the event to 2022 after the new host city can find with the little time for its realization. Kazan, Russia was invited to host the event on June 29, 2020.[14][15]

Official Summer Sports
See footnote[16]

Official Winter Sports
See footnote[16]

Recognized Sports

Demonstration Sports
  • Stick Shooting

Regional games

Asia Pacific Games

In 2013, Australia hosted the first ever Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games.[17]

Special Olympics European Games
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See also

References
  1. "Special Olympics: World Games Overview". specialolympics.org.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2012-09-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Special Olympics: About Competitions Results Schedules". specialolympics.org.
  4. "Special Olympics: History of Special Olympics". specialolympics.org.
  5. "Welcome World Winter Games PyeongChang 2013". 2013sopoc.org. Archived from the original on 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  6. "2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games In Los Angeles 2015". La2015.org. Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  7. Austria to host 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games. October 12, 2012. Special Olympics official website. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  8. "Special Olympics Selects Kazan, Russia to Host Landmark World Winter Games in 2022". Special Olympics.
  9. http://www.abudhabi2019.org/
  10. "Berlin, Germany selected to host the 2023 Special Olympics World Games". Special Olympics.
  11. "2009 Special Olympics To Take Place In Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina". GamesBid.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  12. McLaughlin, Micah (June 14, 2006). "Special Olympics come to Idaho in 2009". The Arbiter. The Arbiter. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  13. "Sweden selected to host the 2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games". Special Olympics.
  14. "New Location for 2021 World Winter Games". Special Olympics.
  15. "Kazan to host Special Olympics World Winter Games in 2022". Inside the Games.
  16. Sports & Games. Special Olympics official website. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  17. Asia Pacific Games / Newcastle 2013. Special Olympics official website. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
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