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| Sport | Special Olympics |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Dublin |
| CEO | Matt English |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Special Olympics Ireland is a sporting organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities that operates in the Island of Ireland. It is part of the global Special Olympics movement.
The organization was founded in 1978 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver to provide children and adults with a year-round sports programme . [1] The organisation was made up of 27,000 athletes. [2] At the time, it was one of the first European programmes of the international Special Olympics movement.
Special Olympics Ireland creates opportunities for children and adults with learning (intellectual) disabilities to take part in various sports training and competition year-round. To be eligible to take part in the Special Olympics programmes, participants have to have an intellectual/learning disability.
In 2021, there were more than 8,000 Special Olympics athletes, aged 4 with no upper age limit, participating in 15 sports in 290 clubs throughout the island of Ireland. [3] These athletes benefit from taking regular sport training and competition programmes. It is broken up into five regions: Special Olympics Connaught, Special Olympics Leinster, Special Olympics Munster, Special Olympics Ulster and Special Olympics Eastern Region, which is for the Dublin Clubs.
The Special Olympics Ireland Games are held every four years.
| Edition | Year | Host City |
|---|---|---|
| I | 2006 | Belfast |
| II | 2010 | Limerick |
| III | 2014 | Limerick |
| IV | 2018 | Dublin |
| V | 2022 | TBD |
Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing non-disabled sports, while others have been specifically created for persons with a disability and do not have a non-disabled equivalent. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary. At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.
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. 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. 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.
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The Special Olympics World Games also known as Special Olympiad are an international sporting event for participants with intellectual disabilities, organized by the IOC-recognised Special Olympics organization.
Special Olympics Great Britain (SOGB) is a sporting organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities that operates in England, Scotland and Wales. It is part of the global Special Olympics movement. Great Britain is represented at the Special Olympics World Games and the Special Olympics Great Britain National Games are held on a four year cycle.
WheelPower is the national organisation for wheelchair sports in the United Kingdom, and aims to help people with disabilities improve their quality of life.
Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) is a voluntary welfare organisation based in Singapore, that provides services for the intellectually disabled. MINDS was founded in 1962, and remains one of the largest charities in Singapore. Over 600 staff and 2,400 beneficiaries are a part of MINDS. Two other organisations, the Association for Persons with Special Needs and Metta School were formed as an offshoot of MINDS.
Special Olympics USA is a sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in the United States. It is part of the global Special Olympics movement. Special Olympics was founded in 1968 with the main goal of accepting and welcoming individuals as they are. Special Olympics provides year-round training in Olympic based sports and is based in 204 countries.
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
Special Olympics Canada is a national organization founded in 1969 to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence and social skills through sports training and competition.
Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practiced by people with a disability as a parasport. The athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, with two major exceptions in wheelchair racing and the club throw, which are specific to the division. The sport is known by various names, including disability athletics, disabled track and field and Paralympic athletics. Top-level competitors may be called elite athletes with disability.
Mary Anne Davis is an Irish social entrepreneur, activist and long-term campaigner for the rights and inclusion of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. She has been the chief executive officer of Special Olympics International since May 2016. She previously served as managing director and Regional President of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia (SOEE), with the responsibility of overseeing the growth and development of Special Olympics across 58 countries in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Davis also served as Chairperson of Special Olympics Ireland.
Virtus Sport is a federation established in 1986 by Dutch athletic professionals to promote the participation of athletes with mental handicap in elite sports.
Disability sport in Australia encompasses individuals with different disabilities, of all ages and skill levels from recreational to professional, participating in sport in Australia. The apex of disability sport in Australia is the Paralympics. Australia's participation at the Paralympics began with the inaugural 1960 Summer Paralympics and 1976 Winter Paralympics. Australia hosted the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney.
Special Olympics Pakistan is an official recognized program of Special Olympics International which operates in Pakistan as not-for-profit organization and works with intellectually disabled individuals and help them through participation in sports.
Intellectual disability sport classification is a classification system used for disability sport that allows people with intellectual disabilities to fairly compete with and against other people with intellectual disabilities. Separate classification systems exist for the elite athlete with a disability side affiliated with the Paralympic movement and Virtus, and the sports for all model affiliated with Special Olympics. People with intellectual disabilities have issues with conceptual skills, social skills and practical skills. They have IQs of 75 points or lower, limitations in adaptive behaviour and their disability manifested and was documented prior to turning 18 years of age.
Vanessa Heleta is a women's rights activist and Special Olympics organiser from Tonga.
British Weight Lifting (BWL) is a trading name of the British Weight Lifters' Association Ltd (BWLA), the National Governing Body (NGB) in the United Kingdom for the sports of weightlifting and para powerlifting. The Association was initially established in 1910. From 1911 to 2003 its name was the British Amateur Weight Lifters' Association (BAWLA); and in 1957, it was incorporated as a limited company.
Special Olympics Kosovo is a sporting organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities that operates in Kosovo. It is part of the global Special Olympics movement.
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