Special Olympics

For global sports competitions organized by Special Olympics, see Special Olympics World Games.
Special Olympics
FoundedJuly 20, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-07-20)
FounderEunice Kennedy Shriver
Location
OriginsCamp Shriver
Area served
International
Official language
English
and the host country's official language when necessary
Key people
Timothy Shriver (chairman of the board)
Mary Davis (Chief Executive Officer)
William P. Alford (Lead Director & vice chair)
Angelo Moratti (vice chair)
Loretta Claiborne (vice chair)[1]
Websitewww.specialolympics.org

Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries.[2] Special Olympics competitions are held daily, all around the world—including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to more than 100,000 events a year.[3] Like the International Paralympic Committee, the Special Olympics organization is recognized by the International Olympic Committee; however, unlike the Paralympic Games, its World Games are not held in the same year nor in conjunction with the Olympic Games.

The Special Olympics World Games is a major event put on by the Special Olympics committee. The World Games generally alternate between summer and winter games, in two-year cycles, recurring every fourth year. The first edition of the games were held on July 20, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, with about 1,000 athletes from the U.S. and Canada. At those first games, honorary event chair Eunice Kennedy Shriver announced the formation of the Special Olympics organization. International participation expanded in subsequent games. In 2003, the first summer games held outside the United States were in Dublin, Ireland, with 7000 athletes from 150 countries. The most recent Summer Games were hosted in Berlin, Germany, between June 16 to 25, 2023.[4]

The first World Winter Games were held in 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, US. Austria hosted the first Winter Games outside the United States in 1993. The most recent Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in Graz, Schladming and Ramsau, Austria, from March 14, 2017, to March 25, 2017 (see also 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games). During the World Winter Games of 2013 in Pyeongchang, South Korea,[5] the first Special Olympics Global Development Summit was held on "Ending the Cycle of Poverty and Exclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities", gathering government officials, activists and business leaders from around the world.[6]

  1. ^ "Special Olympics Board of Directors". specialolympics.org. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "Smithsonian Highlights Special Olympics History and Athletes". National Museum of American History. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "2016 Reach Report" (PDF). Special Olympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.
  4. ^ "Berlin, Germany selected to host the 2023 Special Olympics World Games". Special Olympics. November 13, 2018.
  5. ^ "Main page". 2013sopoc.org. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  6. ^ "Global Leaders Convene in PyeongChang, Korea Participate in Groundbreaking Special Olympics Global Development Summit". Special Olympics. January 30, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2014.