About this Section
Special Olympics Ontario offers a wide array of competition opportunities for its athletes: regional, provincial, national, and world Games are among the most visible of Special Olympics initiatives. In order to ensure that all athletes have equal access to competition, including the opportunity to proceed through the competition structure, a number of guidelines and policies are put into place.
This chapter will cover information dealing with all aspects of Special Olympics competition. Below are some general points about competition opportunities that are covered elsewhere in the Program, Policies and Procedures resource.
School Competition
Volunteer committees are developed throughout Ontario that host school competitions, and school boards include Special Olympics divisions in their existing competitions. There are over 50 competitions each school year across the province. (This is addressed in Section 12.0, “Schools and Youth Programs.”)
Integrated Competition
As a result of partnerships with generic sport organizations, Special Olympics has been able to provide opportunities for its athletes to compete outside of Special Olympics. Special Olympics sports that have had the most success with integrated competitions are swimming, figure skating, speed skating, powerlifting, soccer and bowling. The competitions range from fun meets all the way up to the Canada Games.
Canada Games
Currently, Special Olympics Ontario competes as full medal participants in the sports of figure skating, swimming, and athletics. As Special Olympics’ relationship with the Canada Games Council grows, more sports will be added. (This is addressed in Section 15.3, in the chapter on Integrated Programs.) |
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