Special Olympics World Games
| Special Olympics World Games | |
|---|---|
 The crowd at the Special Olympics World Games Opening Ceremony in Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland, 2003 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Sporting event |
| Date(s) | Various |
| Frequency | Every two years |
| Country | Various |
| Inaugurated | 1968 (summer) 1977 (winter) |
The Special Olympics World Games are an international sporting activity for participants with intellectual disabilities, organized by the IOC-recognized Special Olympics organization.
Contents
Principles[edit]
Although local Special Olympics events and activities 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] while also providing wholesome entertainment for spectators. The World Games feature more than a week of activities 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[edit]
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]
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.[8] Competitions were held in 24 sports.
It was planned that Åre and Östersund, Sweden would host the 2021 World Winter Games between February 2 to 13, 2021.[9] However, it was announced that Sweden had cancelled the games due to financial difficulties and theys would move it to another country.[10]
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.[11]
Hosts[edit]
| Year | Summer Special Olympics World Games | Winter Special Olympics World Games | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Host | Date(s) | No. | Host | Date(s) | |
| 1968 | 1 |  Chicago, United States |
July 20 – August 3 | |||
| 1970 | 2 | Chicago, United States |
August 13 – 15 | |||
| 1972 | 3 | Los Angeles, United States |
August 13 – 18 | |||
| 1975 | 4 | Mount Pleasant, United States |
August 8 – 13 | |||
| 1977 | 1 | Steamboat Springs, United States |
February 5 – 11 | |||
| 1979 | 5 | Brockport, United States |
August 8 – 13 | |||
| 1981 | 2 | Smugglers' Notch and Stowe, United States |
March 8 – 13 | |||
| 1983 | 6 | Baton Rouge, United States |
July 12 – 18 | |||
| 1985 | 3 | Park City, United States |
March 24 – 29 | |||
| 1987 | 7 | Notre Dame and South Bend, United States |
July 31 – August 1 | |||
| 1989 | 4 | Lake Tahoe and Reno, United States |
April 1 – 8 | |||
| 1991 | 8 | Minneapolis and Saint Paul, United States |
July 19 – 27 | |||
| 1993 | 5 |  Salzburg and Schladming, Austria |
March 20 – 27 | |||
| 1995 | 9 | New Haven, United States |
July 1 – 9 | |||
| 1997 | 6 |  Collingwood and Toronto, Canada |
February 1 – 8 | |||
| 1999 | 10 | Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, United States |
June 26 – July 4 | |||
| 2001 | 7 | Anchorage, United States |
March 4 – 11 | |||
| 2003 | 11 |  Dublin, Ireland |
June 21 – 29 | |||
| 2005 | 8 |  Nagano, Japan |
February 26 – March 4 | |||
| 2007 | 12 |  Shanghai, China |
October 2 – 11 | |||
| 2009 | 9 | Boise, United States(1) |
February 6 – 13 | |||
| 2011 | 13 |  Athens, Greece |
June 25 – July 4 | |||
| 2013 | 10 |  Pyeongchang, Korea |
January 29 – February 5 | |||
| 2015 | 14 | Los Angeles, United States |
July 25 – August 2 | |||
| 2017 | 11 | Graz and Schladming, Austria |
March 14 – 25 | |||
| 2019 | 15 |  Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
March 14 – 21 | |||
| 2021 | 2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games | |||||
| 2023 | 16 |  Berlin, Germany |
June 16 – 25 | |||
Official Summer Sports[edit]
- See footnote[14]
Official Winter Sports[edit]
- See footnote[14]
Recognized Sports[edit]
Demonstration Sports[edit]
- Stick Shooting
Regional games[edit]
Asia Pacific Games[edit]
In 2013, Australia hosted the first ever Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games.[15]
See also[edit]
- Ancient Olympic Games
- Deaflympics
- Flame of Hope (Special Olympics)
- Camp Shriver
- Special Olympics USA National Games
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Special Olympics: World Games Overview". specialolympics.org.
- ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2012-09-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Special Olympics: About Competitions Results Schedules". specialolympics.org.
- ^ "Special Olympics: History of Special Olympics". specialolympics.org.
- ^ "Welcome World Winter Games PyeongChang 2013". 2013sopoc.org. Archived from the original on 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
- ^ "2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games In Los Angeles 2015". La2015.org. Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
- ^ Austria to host 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games. October 12, 2012. Special Olympics official website. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
- ^ http://www.abudhabi2019.org/
- ^ "Sweden selected to host the 2021 Special Olympics World Winter Games". Special Olympics.
- ^ "New Location for 2021 World Winter Games". Special Olympics.
- ^ "Berlin, Germany selected to host the 2023 Special Olympics World Games". Special Olympics.
- ^ "2009 Special Olympics To Take Place In Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina". GamesBid.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ McLaughlin, Micah (June 14, 2006). "Special Olympics come to Idaho in 2009". The Arbiter. The Arbiter. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ a b Sports & Games. Special Olympics official website. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
- ^ Asia Pacific Games / Newcastle 2013. Special Olympics official website. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
