Philosophy

Mission
To provide year round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic type sports for children and adults with mental retardation, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

Vision Statement:
Special Olympics is an unprecedented global movement which, through quality sports training and competition, improves the lives of people with mental retardation and, in turn, the lives of everyone they touch.

• Special Olympics empowers people with mental retardation to realize their full potential and develop their skills through year-round sports training and competition.
• As a result, Special Olympics athletes become more fulfilled and productive members of their families and the communities in which they live.
• Special Olympics is an experience that is energizing, healthy, skillful, welcoming and joyful.

Philosophy
Special Olympics is founded on the belief that people with mental retardation can, with proper instruction and encouragement, learn, enjoy, and benefit from participation in individual and team sports.

Special Olympics believes that consistent training is essential to the development of sports skills, and that competition among those of equal abilities is the most appropriate means of testing these skills, measuring progress, and providing incentives for personal growth.

Special Olympics believes that through sports training and competition, people with mental retardation benefit physically, mentally, socially and spiritually; families are strengthened; and the community at large, both through participation and observation, is united in understanding people with mental retardation in an environment of equality, respect, and acceptance.

Principles
To provide the most enjoyable, beneficial and challenging activities for athletes with metal retardation, Special Olympics operates worldwide in accordance with the following principles and beliefs:

That the goal of Special Olympics is to help bring all persons with mental retardation into the larger society under conditions whereby they are accepted, respected and given a chance to become productive citizens.

That, as a means of achieving this goal, Special Olympics its more capable athletes to move from Special Olympics training and competition into school and community programs where they can compete in regular sports activities. The decision to leave or to continue involvement in Special Olympics is the athlete's choice.

Around the world....there are accredited Special Olympics Programs in more than 160 countries. Special Olympics Programs are continually being developed around the world.

In the United States....Special Olympics Programs are established in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Gaum, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. About 25,000 communities in the United States have Special Olympics Programs.

Through the Special Olympics Model School District programs, public school districts include Special Olympics in their physical education curriculum and provide extracurricular and interscholastic sports to elementary and secondary students with mental retardation. The Special Olympics Mega-Cities program coordinates Special Olympics training and competition in schools, community recreaqtion programs, group homes, and institutions in 11 large metropolitan areas.

To be eligible to participate...in Special Olympics, an athlete must be at least eight years old and identified by an agency or professional as having one of the following conditions:mental retardation, cognitive delays as measured by formal assessment, or significant learning or vocational problems due to cognitive delay they require, or have required, specially-designed instruction.

The Special Olympics Unified Sports TM program...brings together athletes with and without mental retardation of similar age and ability to train and compete on the same teams. Founded in 1987, Special Olympics Unified Sports fosters the integration of persons with mental retardation into school and community sports programs.

Special Olympics provides year-round training...and competition in 25 official sports. Special Olympics has developed and tested programs that are outlined in a Sports Skills Guide for each sport. More than 140,000 qualified coaches train Special Olympics athletes.

By assigning athletes to divisions...determined by their ages and ability levels, Special Olympics gives every athlete a reasonable chance to win. Athletes from alldivisions may advance to State, National, and World Games.

For athletes with profound disabilities...Special Olympics created its Motor Activities Training Program (MATP), developed by physical educators, physical therapists, and recreation therapists. MATP emphasizes training and participation rather than competition. MATP is part of the Special Olympics commitment to offer sports training to all individuals with mental retardation.

Special Olympics competitions...are patterned after the Olympics Games. More than 16,000 Games, meets, and tournaments in both summer and winter sports are held worldwide each year. World Games for selected representatives of all Programs are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter.

More than 500,000 volunteers.....organize and run local Special Olympics programs, serving as coaches, Games officials, drivers, and in many other capacities. Anyone can learn how to participate through the many training programs Special Olympics offers for coaches, officials, and volunteers.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C....Special Olympics guides local, area, state, and national programs around the world. A volunteer board of directors determines international policies and is comprised of business and sport leaders, professional athletes, educators, and experts in mental retardation from around the world.

Giving cooperation and support...to Special Olympics are the national governing bodies and/or international sports ffederations of each sport played in Special Olympics. Major sports organizations and a host of world leaders also support Special Olympics and its goals.

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