Special Olympics Great Britain
SportSpecial Olympics
JurisdictionEngland, Scotland, Wales
Founded1978
HeadquartersLondon
PresidentLawrie McMenemy
ChairmanPaul Richardson
CEOLaura Baxter MBE (Interim)
Vice president(s)Paul Anderson
Official website
www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk
United Kingdom

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.

History

Initially known as Special Olympics UK, it was founded in 1978 by Chris Maloney MBE and at the time, was one of the first European programmes of the international Special Olympics movement.[1] Special Olympics GB was established on 8 August 1979, the year Great Britain made its début at the Special Olympics World Games in Brockport, United States.

Organisation

Special Olympics GB creates opportunities for children and adults with learning (intellectual) disabilities to take part in various sports training and competition year-round.

Special Olympics is often confused with the Paralympics, which is for elite athletes with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.

To be eligible to take part in the Special Olympics GB programmes, participants would have to have an IQ of 75 and below. There are currently 140 Special Olympics clubs in Great Britain, run by over 4,000 volunteers, and involving 10,000 athletes who benefit from taking regular sport training and competitions programmes.[2]

Special Olympics GB has a charitable status and has been receiving donations and funding from individuals as well as corporate partners. National Grid, Coca-Cola GB, ABB and Lions Clubs International are some of the long-term official partners of the charity.[3]

Special Olympic GB Ambassadors from the world of sports and entertainment help to raise funds and build awareness of the charity's work throughout Great Britain.[4]

Special Olympics GB includes former Southampton football manager Lawrie McMenemy, Olympic Champion athlete Darren Campbell, former NBA basketball legend John Amaechi, TV beauty and style guru Armand Beasley.

Special Olympics GB offers 28 different individual and team sports that provide meaningful training and competition opportunities for people with intellectual (learning) disabilities.[5]

Special Olympics GB has an extensive network of clubs operating in 19 regions throughout England, Scotland and Wales.[6]

All the clubs and competitions are run solely by an army of dedicated volunteers.[7]

Great Britain at the Special Olympics World Games

Athletes representing Great Britain have participated in both the summer and the winter editions of the Special Olympics World Games.

Summer

Games Athletes
Republic of Ireland Dublin 2003193[8]
China Shanghai 2007156
Greece Athens 2011149
United States Los Angeles 2015112[9]
United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 2019127[10]
Germany Berlin 2023Future event

Source:[11]

Winter

Games Athletes
United States Idaho 200910
South Korea Pyongchang 20137
Austria Graz and Schladming 201721
Russia Kazan 2022Cancelled
Italy Turin 2025Future event

Source:[11]

Special Olympics Great Britain National Games

The Special Olympics Great Britain National Games are held every four years. The 2021 edition was postponed as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and a venue and dates are to be determined.[12]

Editions

Edition Year Host City Start Date End Date
I 1982 Liverpool
II 1986 Brighton and Hove
III 1989 Leicester
IV 1993 Sheffield 20 August 26 August
V 1997 Portsmouth 28 June 5 July
VI 2001 Cardiff 28 July 7 August
VII 2005 Glasgow 2 July 9 July
VIII 2009 Leicester 25 July 31 July
IX 2013 Bath 28 August 1 September
X 2017 Sheffield 7 August 12 August
XI TBA TBA TBA TBA

Teams

Athletes compete as part of twelve regional teams; East Midlands, East of England, Greater London, North West England, Northern England, Scotland, South East England, South West England, Southern England, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "History | Special Olympics". Specialolympicsgb.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
  2. ↑ "About Us | Special Olympics". Specialolympicsgb.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
  3. ↑ "National Sponsors | Special Olympics". Specialolympicsgb.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Ambassadors | Special Olympics". Specialolympicsgb.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
  5. ↑ "Sports We Offer | Special Olympics". Specialolympicsgb.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
  6. ↑ "Find A Club | Special Olympics". Specialolympicsgb.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
  7. ↑ "As a Volunteer | Special Olympics". Specialolympicsgb.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
  8. ↑ "2003 World Summer Games : EE.SO Great Britain". 4 December 2003. Archived from the original on 2003-12-04. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Great Britain - Special Olympics World Games". 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "SO Great Britain". Abudhabi2019.org.
  11. 1 2 "GREAT BRITAIN FACT SHEET" (PDF). Media.specialolympics.org. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  12. ↑ "Liverpool will not hold Special Olympics". Bbc.co.uk. 29 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Find a Club". Specialolympicsgb.org.
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