More than 3,000 athletes from across Italy will compete in 18 sports: track and field, badminton, bocce, bowling, five-a-side football, rowing, dragon boat, equestrian, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, indoor rowing, golf, swimming, basketball, unified volleyball, rugby, tennis, and table tennis. Organized in the 50th anniversary year of Special Olympics worldwide, these Games represent the largest national event in the organization's Italian history—both in the number of competing athletes and the range of sports offered. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver as a sports movement exclusively for people with intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics now promotes a culture of respect and inclusion that welcomes athletes without disabilities as well. Nearly all sports include unified competitions: athletes with and without intellectual disabilities compete together on the same team, reaching for a victory that transcends the purely athletic. It's a powerful demonstration of sport's capacity to foster the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in society, shifting public attitudes and breaking down prejudice and exclusion. On June 5, during the divisioning process, coaches assess each athlete's abilities so that competitors always face peers at similar skill levels. Every athlete, regardless of ability, has the chance to race toward victory.
At Special Olympics, the real competition is against one's own limits. Every athlete who finishes receives recognition—all of it wrapped in an atmosphere that is always positive and joyful. That atmosphere arrived in Tuscany on May 16 with the Torch Run. Starting from Florence, the Olympic flame crossed 18 municipalities, embodying from the outset a fundamental value: cohesion, the sense of belonging to a global message of inclusion that brings together institutions, schools, families, and all residents of Tuscany as active participants. The Olympic torch arrived on Tuesday, June 5, at 8:30 p.m., at the Snai Sesana Racetrack in Montecatini Terme, for the Opening Ceremony of the 34th Summer National Games. Music and spectacle will intersperse Olympic protocol. One of the most moving moments will be the entrance of the torch and the lighting of the cauldron, officially opening the National Summer Games with the Special Olympics Athlete's Oath: "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt".
Alongside official, traditional, and unified competitions, June 6 at the Palaterme at 10:00 a.m. will feature exhibitions of the Young Athletes Program—an innovative program of play and movement for young children with intellectual disabilities, preparing them to enter formal Special Olympics sports at age 8. Also at the Palaterme at 10:00 a.m. on June 7, the Motor Activities Training Program (MATP) will present exhibitions for children, youth, and adults with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. This program emphasizes training and participation over competition, using short-term goals to individualize instruction so that people with significant disabilities can engage in recreational activities suited to their abilities. Health Programs launch June 6. A dedicated wellness area will focus on physical fitness and prevention, where athletes learn self-care and healthy choices in a joyful, welcoming environment. All programs follow health protocols specifically developed for people with intellectual disabilities, refined through years of research and data analysis from programs worldwide. Through June 8 at the Excelsior Thermal Spa on Viale Verdi, volunteer specialists will offer athletes free health screenings: Opening Eyes (optometrists), Special Smile (dentists), Health Promotion (nutritionists), Fit Feet (podiatrists), Healthy Hearing (audiologists), and osteopaths. The Closing Celebration takes place June 8 at 9:00 p.m. at the Olympic Village—Parco delle Terme Excelsior.
Source: Special Olympics