Three days of fierce competition will see the advancement of the Special Olympics South Africa National Team that will represent SA
Lifeguards at the Special Olympics South Africa fundraiser on Saturday, 10 September 2022. Picture: Palesa Manaleng/EWN.
JOHANNESBURG – The countdown to the 2022 Special Olympics South Africa National Summer Games in Limpopo has begun.
A promise of over 700 Special Olympic athletes and coaches from across all 9 provinces will descend on Polokwane Municipality, to compete in the 2022 Special Olympics South Africa Summer Games, 17- 19 November.
“ In order to be able to compete on a National level athletes need to advance from district, to provincial games. It is important to note that Special Olympics is not an elite sporting movement” said Special Olympics South Africa CEO, Ancilla Smith.
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Special Olympics South Africa (@SO_SouthAfrica) November 14, 2022
Three days of fierce competition will see the advancement of the Special Olympics South Africa National Team representing South Africa at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany.
“As Special Olympics South Africa we have always received tremendous support from local government. On a National level we work closely with a number of Ministries on our various initiatives. However, we are hoping in the near future that our athletes will enjoy the same support and recognition afforded to their mainstream counterparts,” said Smith.
During the three-day event, Special Olympics athletes will compete in 8 sporting codes athletics, aquatics, basketball, boccie, football, futsal, netball, table tennis and ten-pin bowling.
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Today, on Monday 10 October, there are just 250 days left until we kick off the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023! @SOWG_Berlin2023 #Berlin2023 #UnbeatableTogether #SpecialOlympicsWorldGames pic.twitter.com/SZVyiutMqH
Special Olympics South Africa (@SO_SouthAfrica) October 10, 2022
“ Special Olympics offers 30-plus Olympic-style individual and team sports that provide meaningful training and competition opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities,” said Smith to Eyewitness News.
“ The fundamental difference between Special Olympics competitions and those of other sports organizations is that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate, and every athlete is recognized for his/her performance. Competitions are structured so that athletes compete with other athletes of similar ability in equitable divisions”.
Smith says the upcoming national championships will be officiated by representatives from the South African Football Federation, Athletics South Africa, the Table Tennis Association of South Africa, Swimming South Africa, Ten Pin Bowling South Africa, the NBA and Netball South Africa.
“ Special Olympics calls this competition-level matching “divisioning.” It’s a fundamental rule at Special Olympics that athletes in competitions are matched up with others of the same gender, about the same age and most importantly, of about the same competitive ability” continued Smith.
Our Chairman @TimShriverlays out Special Olympics mission of fostering a global community-based movement for social and educational inclusion with @CSIS‘s @handrewschwartz. Listen to the full interview here https://t.co/B6cxKtew94 #ChooseToInclude pic.twitter.com/8AzHMDPodF
Special Olympics (@SpecialOlympics) November 14, 2022
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