Part of the Olympic family
This charity is part of the Olympic family, but different as they provide year-round sports training and competitions for all people with learning disabilities rather than a single event for elite athletes.
Special Olympics GB is important in the lives of thousands of people with learning disabilities of all ages and abilities right across Great Britain. They’ve found that sport can transform lives, giving those with learning disabilities and their carers’ new confidence, hope and belief that they ‘can’. Athletes also improve their social skills and make friends.
Special Olympics GB supported a 46-strong British team of athletes who represented their country at the European summer games in Warsaw in September 2010. The athletes in the GB team won a stunning 88 medals, including 39 gold medals.
Some things you might like to know:
- There are around 1.2 million adults and children in the UK with learning disabilities and more than 200 babies with these disabilities are born every week.
- Special Olympics Great Britain offers a wide range of sports from cycling to athletics and judo to table tennis and football.
- 2011 is the year of the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens and Special Olympics GB will field a team of 152 athletes who will compete in 18 different sports.
Right now Special Olympics has over 130 groups run by more than 2,800 volunteers and provides coaching and competition opportunities to 8,000 learning disabled athletes.
They are working to bring the power of sport into the lives of a further 12,000 people with learning disabilities by the end of 2013 to help them live their lives to the full.
You can help this come true by rounding up and giving a few pennies when you buy lunch or dinner online from Domino’s Pizza. A few pennies from a lot of people will make a real difference.
For more information visit www.sogb.org.uk
