About the 2007 Special Olympics

What are Special Olympics?

The Special Olympics is a year-round international sports training and competition event for more than 2.25 million children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Special Olympics slogan:

Be brave in the attempt and strive for victory (Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.)

Our leaders are: Ms. Eunice Kennedy Shriver (Founder and Chairman Emeritus), Dr. Timothy Shriver (Chairman), Bruce Pastrnak (President and CEO)

Our mission is:

Create conditions and opportunities for children and adults with intellectual disabilities to participate in daily Olympic sports training and competition, so that they can realize their potential, perform bravely, and compete with other athletes, Families and the entire community share joy, exchange skills and develop friendships.

Our goal is: To give people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to become citizens who are useful to society, recognized and respected by society.

Benefits: By participating in Special Olympics sports, people with intellectual disabilities can enhance physical function, motor skills, self-esteem, confidence, develop friendships and receive support from family members. Special Olympics athletes bring these benefits into their daily lives, work, school and community activities. Family members can become closer, community volunteers and athletes can become good friends, and everyone can see the value of people with intellectual disabilities.

The spirit of the Special Olympics is: skill, courage, sharing, and joy that transcends boundaries of country, politics, gender, age, race, and religion.

The establishment of the Special Olympics: In 1968, Ms. Eunice Kennedy Shriver held the first international Special Olympics at Soldier Plaza in Chicago, Illinois, USA. In early 1960, Ms. Shriver organized a summer camp for the mentally retarded, which led to the idea of ??organizing sports games because she saw that the abilities of the mentally retarded in sports and physical activities were far beyond what many experts had imagined. Since its inception in 1968, millions of children and adults with intellectual disabilities have participated in the Special Olympics Games.

Around the world: Special Olympics organizations have been established in more than 160 countries. Special Olympics activities take place all over the world.

In the United States: Special Olympics organizations have been established in all 50 states, including Washington, DC, Guam, the Virgin Islands and American Samoa. There are nearly 25,000 communities offering Special Olympics activities.

Through the implementation of Special Olympics model schools, Special Olympics sports training courses in public schools, and in-class and extra-curricular sports competitions for first- and second-grade students with intellectual disabilities, communities in 11 major cities Special Olympics school training and competition activities were carried out among , families and groups.

Eligibility: Athletes participating in the Special Olympics must be at least eight years old and determined by relevant institutions and professionals to meet one of the following conditions: intellectual disability; cognitive ability is deemed to be slow under standard standards; due to Persons whose slow cognitive abilities lead to major learning and life deficiencies and who require special guidance.

Integrated sports: Teams with intellectually disabled people and generally able-bodied people*** are organized according to age and physical fitness for training and competition. This activity was established in 1987 with the purpose of enabling people with intellectual disabilities to participate in schools and communities. Physical activities are integrated into normal people.

Special Olympics provides year-round training: 25 official competition events. Special Olympics created and tested these sports, each of which is detailed in the Sports Guide. More than 140,000 coaches are qualified for training.

Athlete Grouping: Athletes are divided into groups according to age and ability. Special Olympics gives each athlete an equal chance to win. Each athlete should be selected from the regional, national and world Special Olympics.

Athletes with severe disabilities: Special Olympics organized physical trainers, physical therapists and psychotherapists to create an activity training plan. MATP (Mobile Training Program) believes the focus is on training and participation, not competition.

MATP is part of the Special Olympics organization and provides physical training to all people with intellectual disabilities.

Special Olympics Games: Same as Olympic Games. More than 20,000 summer or winter competitions, round-robin competitions, etc. are held around the world every year. The International Special Olympics Games are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter, and representatives from each organization are selected to participate.

More than 750,000 volunteers: organize regional Special Olympics activities, serve as coaches, managers, drivers and other work areas of Special Olympics. Anyone can become a coach, Managers and volunteers learn to better serve Special Olympics through systematic training.

Washington Headquarters: Special Olympics directs local, regional, state and national Special Olympics activities around the world. The volunteer committee that developed the program is made up of business and sports leaders, professional athletes, and training experts in the field of intellectual disabilities.

Give collaboration and support: Special Olympics is the organization that manages national Special Olympics activities and is also a world sports federation. Special Olympics is an authoritative organization that manages and guides worldwide Special Olympics activities.

Special Olympics is the only organization authorized by the International Olympic Committee to use the "Olympic" logo worldwide.

The meaning of the 2007 Special Olympics emblem

The emblem: "Eye"

Creativity: The shape is an eye, and the figure in the eye is two leaping The shape of an athlete is also a graphic representation of the blooming magnolia, Shanghai’s city flower. This design breaks through the traditional form of expressing semantics through letter deformation, and expresses a highly contagious meaning through freehand abiding by the law.

Meaning: The first meaning is a look of hope: when those mentally retarded lives come to this world, grow up, and go into society, what they pray for is the kind eyes of their mother. When they encounter setbacks and difficulties, people’s eyes of encouragement and help, the eyes of the whole society’s “equality, acceptance, and tolerance”;

The second meaning is that it is a caring look: as a person living in this Everyone in society should give the greatest care, care and love to people with intellectual disabilities, and have the responsibility to treat them equally and help encourage them to integrate into society

The look of care given to them will become a huge motivation to support their continuous self-confidence and self-improvement in life;

The third meaning is that it is a look of concern: Shanghai, China will host the 2007 World The Special Olympics is a grand event for people with intellectual disabilities all over the world, and it is also a grand event to showcase human civilization. The whole world will focus on Shanghai, on the noble cause of Special Olympics, on the 2007 World Special Olympics, and on China, which is moving towards a civilized society with the connotation of "humanism, humanity, humanity, and humanity"!