Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011

Special Olympics World Summer Games

The 13th Special Olympics World Summer Games are to take place in June 25 – July 4 2011, in Athens, Greece and 7,500 Special Olympics Athletes from 185 nations will compete in 21 Olympic-type sports.

Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011 Opening Ceremony: 25 June 2011
Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011 Closing Ceremony: 4 July 2011

Special Olympics History

Introduction

It all started from a backyard summer camp!

The Special Olympics history explains that, back in 1962, Eunice Kennedy Shriver started a day camp for intellectually challenged people at her home.

Since then, the seed of the Special Olympics has created a deeper impression, much deeper than the eyes can delve into, in the lives and attitudes of a lot of people. The legacy has continued for more than 40 years. The great lady, the founder of the Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, left her mortal body two years back; but with every passing year, the Special Olympics history is enriching itself with new additions in the Games and the sports disciplines.

Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, in a letter paying tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver after her death on August 11, 2009 truly said, “Her voice will echo each time the oath is recited, her fire will burn each time the flame is lit and her legacy will live and grow through every athlete in every competition, daily, around the world.”

Special Olympics History: A Few Unknown Facts

The Special Olympics history says that the idea of the Special Olympics was conceived when Eunice Kennedy Shriver started the summer camp for the intellectually challenged children in her own backyard in 1962. She believed that these challenged children were in a way far more capable than commonly believed by the normal people. She also wanted that those children should get the same opportunities and experiences as others. In the June of 1962, 35 boys and girls with intellectual disabilities joined the Camp Shriver at Timberlawn, her home in Rockville, Maryland. They explored their various capabilities through lots of physical activities and a number of sports. The Camp Shriver started to be held every year as an annual event, and more and more children joined every year. Through the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, Eunice Kennedy Shriver also extended financial aids to recreation departments and community centers to encourage them to hold similar camps.

The idea for a one-time Olympic-style athletic competition for the special people was first put forward by Anne McGlone Burke, a physical education teacher with the Chicago Park District to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who was the head of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was ready to fund the event and granted her $25,000 through the foundation.
The venue of the first International Special Olympics Games was the Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was held on 20 July 1968. More than 1,000 athletes from United States and Canada participated in the first Special Olympics. In the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics, Shriver officially announced the formation of Special Olympics.

Rosemary Kennedy, who was Shriver’s sister, suffered a severe permanent intellectual disability after a lobotomy. It is said that the concept of Special Olympics introduced by Shriver has got its inspiration from her disability.

The Journey of the Special Olympics through the Years

In 1971, the official permission was granted to the Special Olympics to use the name “Olympics”.
More than 500 ‘special’ athletes competed in skiing and skating events in the first International Special Olympics Winter Games in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA.
1988 was the year when the Special Olympics was officially recognized and endorsed by the International Olympic Committee.
An official initiative by the name of ‘Healthy Athletes’ was taken up which encouraged health-care services to Special Olympics athletes worldwide and included free vision, hearing and dental screening, injury prevention clinics and nutrition education under the program.
The Special Olympics World Summer Games 2003 was held in Dublin, Ireland. 7000 athletes from 150 countries had a heart-touching competition over 18 sports disciplines. This was also the first time that the opening and closing ceremonies were broadcast live.
The "Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act," Public Law 108-406 was signed on October 30, 2004, by President George W. Bush which authorized the funding for the Healthy Athletes, Education, and Worldwide Expansion programs of the athletes.
The Special Olympics and Best Buddies International launched a campaign, ‘Spread the Word to End the Word’ in 2008. This campaign encouraged people to put an end to the word ‘retard’ to describe these special people.
2010 was the year to celebrate the grand event of the first Latin America Regional Special Olympics on U.S. soil. The venue was San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

Conclusion

The motto of the Special Olympics is, "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

The performance of these special people in the sports disciplines in the Special Olympics reminds us that the great woman, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, realized her dream and turned it to a revolution of global magnitude.The Special Olympics History saw the crowning of her endeavors to manifesttrue values of competition and the real meaning of humanity. The Special Olympics history reminds us what the games are really about.

This year, theSpecial Olympics World Summer Games 2011 will be starting from the 25th of June in the land of "fair play", Athens, in Greece. It is the land where the Olympics was really born. Let this year’s Games remind us once again that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the progress of the human spirit.

Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011 Information

Special Olympics World Summer Games Founders	Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Anne McGlone Burke
Special Olympics World Summer Games Founded	1968
Special Olympics World Summer Games Location	1133 19th Street, N.W., Washington, DC, U.S. 20036-3604
Special Olympics World Summer Games Origins	Camp Shriver
Special Olympics World Summer Games Key People	Tim Shriver (Chairman and CEO) Stephen M. Carter (Lead Director & Vice Chair) Nadia Comăneci (Vice Chair) Raymond J. Lane (Vice Chair) J. Brady Lum (President and COO) Andrew Robertson (Treasurer)
Special Olympics World Summer Games Area Served	International
Special Olympics World Summer Games Motto	Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.
Special Olympics World Summer Games Website	www.specialolympics.org