Special Olympics

Many people play sports together.

They play in many lands. These games help people with disabilities feel joy.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver started these games. She wanted people to be happy. She also wanted them to live good lives.

The first games were in Chicago. About 1,000 people went there. Now, millions of people take part.

There are summer games and winter games. They happen in many places. Some games are in the snow.

Athletes work hard to play. It is a time for pride and skill. Playing sports brings people together.

Special Olympics is a huge sports group. It helps people with intellectual disabilities. These are people who may learn in different ways. Millions of people take part in 172 countries.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver started this group. She believed all people could live happy lives. She wanted to change how others see people with disabilities. She began with a small day camp in Maryland. Later, she helped start the first big games in Chicago in 1968. About 1,000 athletes went to those first games.

There are many types of games. Some are summer games. Some are winter games held in the snow.

The games happen in many lands. The first summer games outside the U.S. were in Ireland. They had 7,000 athletes from 150 countries. The group also has a program called Healthy Athletes. It gives free health checks to many people. This helps athletes stay strong. The games are a time for joy and pride. They show that everyone can be part of a team.

Special Olympics is a very large sports group for children and adults. It helps people who have intellectual disabilities. These are people who might learn or think in different ways. Today, about 5 million people take part in these activities. They live in 172 different countries all around the world.

Athletes can join local, national, or regional events. There are more than 100,000 events held every single year. This group helps people find joy through sports and training.

There are two main types of big competitions called World Games. The Summer Games and the Winter Games happen on different cycles. The games usually switch between summer and winter every two years. However, the big World Games only happen once every four years. Athletes can compete in many different sports or disciplines. For example, the 2003 Summer Games in Ireland had 18 different sports. The most recent Summer Games were held in Berlin, Germany, in 2023. The most recent Winter Games were in Torino, Italy, in 2025.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver started this whole movement. She was the sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. She believed that people with disabilities could live very meaningful lives. In 1963, she started a small day camp in Maryland. This camp was called Camp Shriver.

She wanted to show that physical activity was good for everyone. Her work helped change how the world thinks about people with disabilities. She wanted to create a place where everyone felt included.

The very first Special Olympics games happened on July 20, 1968. They were held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. About 1,000 athletes from the U.S. and Canada went there. A teacher named Anne McGlone Burke helped plan this first event. She worked with the Kennedy Foundation to make it happen. The first Winter Games were held later, in 1977, in Colorado.

These games grew from a small idea into a global event.

Special Olympics does more than just host sports competitions. They have a program called Healthy Athletes. This program gives free health checks to many people. By 2010, it had helped over 1 million people. They also have a special symbol for their group. The logo is based on a sculpture called "Joy and Happiness to All the Children of the World." It is a shape that shows movement and growth. This helps everyone feel the spirit of the games.

Special Olympics is the largest global sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. It provides year-round training and various activities to approximately 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners. These people live in 172 different countries across the globe. The organization hosts more than 100,000 events every year. These include local, national, and regional competitions. Special Olympics is recognized by the International Olympic Committee. However, its World Games are different from the Paralympic Games. The Special Olympics World Games do not occur in the same year as the Olympic Games.

The organization holds major competitions known as the World Games. These games generally alternate between summer and winter versions. They follow a two-year cycle for the individual seasons. However, the full World Games occur only every fourth year. The Summer Games and Winter Games focus on different athletic disciplines. For example, the 2003 Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland, featured 18 different disciplines. The most recent Summer Games took place in Berlin, Germany, from June 16 to June 25, 2023. The most recent World Winter Games were held in Torino, Italy, from March 8 to March 15, 2025.

The movement began with the vision of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She was the sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Shriver believed that people with intellectual disabilities could live happy and meaningful lives. In June 1963, she established Camp Shriver in Potomac, Maryland. This was a day camp for children with intellectual and physical disabilities. She wanted to provide opportunities for organized athletic events. At the time, many believed these children had very few such opportunities. Shriver also wrote about her sister, Rosemary Kennedy, to change public attitudes. Rosemary had intellectual disabilities and had undergone a lobotomy in the early 1940s. This article was a watershed moment for public understanding.

Scientific research supported the idea of physical activity for these athletes. In 1958, Dr. James N. Oliver conducted research in England. His study showed that physical exercise had positive effects on mental characteristics. Later, in 1964, Dr. Frank Hayden from Canada demonstrated the benefits of exercise. He believed these benefits would appear in all areas of an athlete's life. Hayden started a floor hockey program for individuals with intellectual disabilities in 1968. He also developed ideas for national games. His work eventually brought him to the attention of the Kennedy Foundation.

The first Special Olympics games were held on July 20, 1968. This event took place at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. About 1,000 athletes from the United States and Canada participated. Anne McGlone Burke, a physical education teacher, helped organize the event. She approached the Kennedy Foundation for funding in 1967. The foundation provided a grant of $25,000 to help expand the idea. The games were a joint venture between the Kennedy Foundation and the Chicago Park District. At the event, Eunice Kennedy Shriver announced the official formation of the organization.

Special Olympics has expanded significantly since its Chicago origins. The first World Winter Games occurred in 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Austria hosted the first Winter Games outside the United States in 1993. In 2003, the Summer Games moved outside the U.S. for the first time to Dublin, Ireland. This event included 7,000 athletes from 150 countries. The 2003 games helped change how international society viewed the abilities of people with disabilities. In 2016, Mary Davis became the first CEO from outside the United States. She is currently leading the organization's global efforts.

Beyond sports, the organization provides vital health services. The Healthy Athletes program was launched as an official initiative in 1997. It offers health information and screenings to athletes worldwide. By 2010, this program had provided free screenings to over 1 million people. In 2004, the U.S. passed the Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act. This law authorized funding for Healthy Athletes and educational programs. The organization also uses a special logo to represent its mission. The logo is based on a sculpture by Zurab Tsereteli. It features a stick figure designed to show movement, growth, and joy.