Athletes
People with intellectual disabilities are found everywhere, without regard to race, religion, political affiliation, culture, economics or social class. Surprisingly, their predictable, positive spirit, determination to succeed, and their innate human decency make them powerful ambassadors for all people society undervalues, ignores and even shuns.
For Special Olympics Florida the athletes are the heart of the movement. They have the opportunity to develop physical fitness, become competitive athletes and through sports, build self-esteem, social skills, friendships, leadership skills and most importantly, have fun and learn life’s lessons. This translates into their lives away from the playing field and making them more productive and accepted members of society.
Special Olympics is the world’s largest program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics currently serves more than 2.25 million persons with intellectual disabilities in more than 150 countries.
Eligibility:
Indentification for eligibility for competition is that the person is 8 years or older and is identified by an agency or professional as having an intellectual disability, the person has a cognitive delay determined by acceptable standardized tests or other measures, or is identified as having a closely related developmental disability with functional limitations in both general learning skills and adaptive skills.
A person is still eligible to participate if they also have a physical disability, emotional disturbances, behavior disorders, specific learning disabilities, visual impairments, or sensory disabilities if their main diagnosis is an intellectual disability.
Athlete Registration:
Persons with intellectual disabilities registering for Special Olympics must submit the following forms:
Appropriate Behaviors for Athletes:
Athlete Code of Conduct Form outlines what is expected of any athlete and the consequences for non-appropriate behavior.
Unified Sports Program:
The Special Olympics Unified Sports ® Program is for athletes with and without disabilities training and competing together on a team. Unified Sports® opportunities would include: Basketball, Bocce, Bowling, and Aquatics. As a family member you are able to participate directly in the training and competition with your child if you register as a Unified Partner in one of the named sports.
