SPECIAL OLYMPICS NEW JERSEY

General Orientation

Mission

To provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympics-type sports for persons eight years of age or older with intellectual disability, …giving them continuing opportunities to 1) develop physical fitness, 2) demonstrate courage, 3) experience joy and 4) participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship

Athlete Oath

“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Creation of Special Olympics

The founder of Special Olympics is Eunice Kennedy Shriver. • June 1962: Ms. Shriver held a summer camp for people with intellectual

disabilities at her home in Maryland, thus beginning the Special Olympics movement.

• July 19-20, 1968: The 1st International Special Olympics Summer Games was held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, with 1,000 athletes competing in swimming and track and field.

• December 1971: The U.S. Olympic Committee gave Special Olympics official approval as one of only two organizations authorized to use the name “Olympics.”

• 1981: The Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR), a grassroots fundraising group, was founded. Today, LETR programs throughout the U.S. raise over $30 million annually.

Development of Special Olympics

• February 1988: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially endorsed and recognized Special Olympics.

• July 1988: Unified Sports is launched in Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe, California.

• March 20-27, 1993: The first Special Olympics World Winter Games are hosted in Salzburg and Schladming, the first time they are ever held outside North America.

• January 1997: Healthy Athletes became an official initiative, aiming to provide health-care services to athletes worldwide. The program includes free health screenings, injury prevention clinics and nutrition education.

Growth of Special Olympics

• October 2001: The ‘SO Get Into It’ program begins, distributing kits to teachers for students with and without disabilities in order to teach them about intellectual disabilities and empower them to “be the difference” by learning values of inclusion, acceptance and respect.

• July 19-20, 2002: Special Olympics, with the help of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, launches its Unified Sports Program at a birthday celebration for Nelson Mandela.

• July 2008: At its 40th Anniversary, Special Olympics celebrated the success of 3 million participating athletes in over 180 countries.

• August 11, 2009: Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away at her family home in Massachusetts.

History of Special Olympics New Jersey

• 1970: Special Olympics New Jersey was founded by Walter Johnson and Bessie Perlman

• July 19-20, 2002: Special Olympics, with the help of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, launches its Unified Sports Program at a birthday celebration for Nelson Mandela.

Today’s Special Olympics Structure Special Olympics, Inc.

Board of Directors

Special Olympics, Inc. Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Africa Asia-Pacific Europe-Eurasia North America

Mexico National Program

Canada National Program

51 United States Programs

Area/County Sub-Programs

Local Athletes and Coaches

Caribbean National Programs

Latin America Middle East-North Africa

Athlete Eligibility • A person must have an intellectual disability and be at least

eight years of age to train and compete. • There is no maximum age limit to participate.

Athletes ages three to eight can participate in the Young Athlete Program (YAP).

Athletes ages six to twelve can participate in Developmental Sports,

a skills-based sports program.

What is an Intellectual Disability?

• It is a disability in which an individual has a slower rate of learning and limited capacity to learn (typically scoring lower than 70 on a standardized IQ Test).

• Generally, individuals with an intellectual disability have a cognitive delay of two or more years.

• In different parts of the world, people with intellectual disabilities are referred to as having: mental handicap, mental impairment, developmental disability.

• Autism in NJ…

Causes of Intellectual Disability

• There are over 500 known causes for an intellectual disability, half of which have more than one causal factor.

• Most prevalent known causes include fetal alcohol syndrome, iodine deficiency and X-linked disorder.>>explain…?

• Causes can be biomedical, social, behavioral, educational or any combination of these factors.

How Common are Intellectual Disabilities?

• On average, 3% of the population may have an intellectual disability. However, only 1-2% of the population receives special services for an intellectual disability.

• Over 300 million people worldwide have an intellectual disability, 7.5 million in the United States.

• Intellectual disabilities are 7 times more prevalent than deafness, 9 times more than cerebral palsy, 15 times more than total blindness and 35 times more than muscular dystrophy.

Identifying a Person with an Intellectual Disability

• For Special Olympics eligibility, a person is considered to have an intellectual disability if he/she satisfies any one of the following requirements:

1. Identified by an agency or professional as having an intellectual disability, as determined by their localities

2. Has a cognitive delay, as determined by a standardized measure (ex. IQ Test)

3. Has a closely-related developmental disability, meaning having functional limitations in both learning (ex. dyslexia, Attention Deficit Disorder) and adaptive skills (ex. independent living, self-care)

Uniqueness from Other Sports Organizations

• Athletes are divisioned to equalize competition.

• Awards are provided to all participants who compete.

• Athletes are not charged a fee to train or compete.>>not true for all programs, only SONJ!

Divisioning

• Through the divisioning process, athletes have an opportunity to compete against athletes of similar ability and provides them the greatest opportunity to succeed.

• Divisions are subject to change throughout a league’s competition season.

• Divisions are created based on three factors: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Skill Level

Sports Offered Within Special Olympics New Jersey

• Alpine Skiing • Aquatics • Baseball • Basketball • Bocce • Bowling • Cross-Country Skiing • Cycling • Equestrian

• Speed Skating • Snow Boarding • Snowshoeing • Soccer • Softball • Tennis • Track & Field • Triathlon • Volleyball

Special Olympics currently offers 24 sports year-round

• Figure Skating • Flag Football • Floor Hockey • Golf • Gymnastics • Motor Activities

Training • Powerlifting • Rowing • Sailing

Areas

Special Olympics New Jersey is organized into

13 area programs, each managed by an area director.

The state Sports Complex is located in

Mercer County, area 11.

Local Training Program (LTP)

Each area is made up of its own Local Training Programs (LTPs). An LTP is a program of coaches and athletes who train and compete in either one sport or multiple sports throughout the year. An LTP can be community, school or organization-based.

Athletes can participate in multiple LTPs, but are only allowed to compete in one sport per season.

Every LTP has an LTP coordinator who manages the program, which includes athlete medicals, coach paperwork and registration forms.

A coach can also serve as an LTP coordinator.

Sports Rules • Official rules of each sport’s National Governing Body or International

Federation are maintained in order to uphold the integrity of each sport.

• Slight modifications can be made depending on the division.*needed?

• The Special Olympics Sports Rules Committee must approve all rules before they are entered into the Official Special Olympics Rules books.

• Volunteers must respect both the athlete and the sport by calling appropriate fouls and violations to the rules.

Rules can be accessed on the Special Olympics New

Jersey website (www.sonj.org).

Competition Levels • The more athletes compete, the more polished

their sports and competition skills and the greater their confidence.

**in different slide or placement?

• Competition is provided at all levels: local, regional, state, national and international.

**build out

Possible Volunteer Roles

• Trainer/Instructor

• Coach

• Unified Partner

• Official

• Event Volunteer

• Healthy Athletes Clinician

***Categorize???

• Medical Support

• Office Support

• Board Member

• Fundraiser

• Law Enforcement Torch Run

• Committee Member – Sport

– Auxilary

– Fundraising

LETR

To continue… Select Which Applies To You

Young Athlete Program Coach

Developmental Coach

LTP COMPETITION COACH

UNIFIED COACH