Sports

The sport of athletics comprises short and long-distance running, jumping and throwing.
The sport of athletics encourages athletes of all abilities and ages to compete at their optimum level. Through the track-and-field-based athletics training program, participants can develop total fitness to compete in any sport.
As with all Special Olympics sports, athletics offers athletes the opportunity to learn through skill development and competitive settings and to be involved in large social settings.

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players.

Every team aims in scoring as many runs possible, against the opponents by striking the ball with a specific bat. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand.

The game is played on a smaller diamond than in baseball and despite the game’s name, the standard softball is not soft; in fact, it is harder than a baseball.

Basketball is a game where players try to throw a round inflated ball through a raised basketlike goal. It is played on a court by two teams of five players. Points are made by shooting the ball through a high metal hoop and net at the opponent’s end of the court. The large round ball used in this game is also called a basketball.

Bocce is an Italian game. The basic principle of the sport is to roll a bocce ball closest to the target ball, which is called a pallina.

Bocce as a Special Olympics sport provides people with special needs the opportunity to have social contact, develop physically and to gain self-confidence.

Every athlete aims in lifting more weights than the opponent using specific moves. In Special Olympics Powerlifting is much more than deadlift, squat or bench press. It is effort, persistence and loyalty.

Training, determination and attitude, are the key facts that define the balance between a successful or a failed attempt. The barbell, despite testing the physical strength, is also highlighting the athlete’s inner wish to improve, “not to make compromises”.

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players (or golfers) use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes.

The game is played on golf “courses”, each of which features a unique design, although courses typically consist of either nine or 18 holes.

Rythmic gymnastics is a sport that combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance, and apparatus manipulation. Individuals or teams of competitors (from 2 to 6 people) manipulate one or two pieces of apparatus: rope, clubs, hoop, ball, ribbon and Free (no apparatus, so called “floor routine”).

Swimming is one of the most popular sports in world. Unlike other sports, swimming is a life skill that is taught, first, to ensure safety and, secondly, for sports and competition purposes.

Small Pins (10 Pins) is a competitive sport in which a player rolles a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.

Although Bowling does not belong to the Olympic sports, it is considered to be among the most popular sport in the Special Olympics. It is a particularly beneficial sport to people with intellectual disabilities, irrespective of their age or sports abilities, since it ensures physical exercise and at the same time participation and social integration.

Large Pins (10 Pins) is a competitive sport in which a player rolles a bowling ball down a wooden or synthetic lane with the objective of scoring points by knocking down as many pins as possible.

Although Bowling does not belong to the Olympic sports, it is considered to be among the most popular sport in the Special Olympics. It is a particularly beneficial sport to people with intellectual disabilities, irrespective of their age or sports abilities, since it ensures physical exercise and at the same time participation and social integration.

Played in just about every country, the sport’s success is due to the fact that it can be played by boys, girls, men and women of just about any physical build and ability. Soccer requires little in the way of specialized equipment and is organized using simple, intuitive rules.