Talk:Special Olympics

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Morris116084, SBerenyi4, Codystgermain, DLH2018. Peer reviewers: Kolby Arnold, Thibault110583, Cushmank, Ianbauersfeld, SBerenyi4.

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Concerns

I read through this article and have some concerns that that Criticism section doesn't really seem to read as objective. It doesn't even really seem to belong in this article and perhaps that has to do with the way it is written. Forgive me for the accusation, but it feels very much that someone with a particular agenda (hence bias and why I do not believe it belongs here) wrote that section. If there is a feeling this section really belongs--it would greatly help if whoever wrote it did the following: Clarify who exactly is making these claims. Write the article from a different tone/voice. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.137.255.230 (talk) 10:53, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

Special Olympics

Why is this page newly flagged as having no references? It has quite a few. — Preceding unsigned comment added by KDylan1 (talk • contribs) 02:23, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

special. Olympics. McAlister' 209.213.146.37 (talk) 22:17, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

Yes, lots of references. Why not un-flag it? EFB.99 (talk) 16:26, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Is that a real picture of the 2004 Special Olympics winner?

What're the requirements to participate in the special olympics, exactly?

Local, national and regional trainings and competitions are open to athletes with intellectual disabilities, ages 8 and up. No charge. There are varying criteria for participation in World Summer or World Winter Games, which happen every two years. KDylan1 (talk) 23:27, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Hello The Official website of the Special Olympics has a general rules document available at:

http://www.specialolympics.com/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/English/About_Us/General+Rules.htm

The following is a quote from that page:

"The General Rules use the phrase “persons with mental retardation” when describing the individuals eligible for participation in Special Olympics. Programs may substitute for that phrase a reference to “mental handicap,” “mental disability,” “intellectual disability” or other phrases approved by Special Olympics, Inc. as provided in Section 10.01, if that alternate terminology is recognized by their respective national governments."

As the parent of an athlete I work with athletes with a wide range of functional levels, including high functioning individuals who hold jobs and are able to drive. If the individual has an intellectual disability which would make participation in maintstream sports difficult or impossible then the Special Olympics should certainly be considered.

Why

Why did Sarajevo or Bosnia give up the rights to host the special olympics, they are stupid turning down an events that cold help their economy.

You assume they did it out of prejudice? The costs involved with preparing for such a competition are only rarely remunerated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.49.56.12 (talk) 10:01, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Why is this portion in the article? Doesn't have attribution and doesn't have anything to do with the main organization. I suggest deleting this section on Bosnia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by KDylan1 (talk • contribs) 23:48, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

Revisions

This page and Special Olympic Games duplicate a lot of content, which has led to discussions about merging the two. I think it is more reasonable to remove the duplication and leave two articles, this one focussed on the organization and another focussed on the games. That is the same structure seen for the Olympics and Paralympics, with articles for the IOC and IPC distinct from the games that they organize. I have prepared a revised version of this page and will then move on to Special Olympic Games. Eron 15:37

I agree with Eron EFB.99 (talk) 19:00, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Also -- the page is flagged for allegedly not including all significant viewpoints. Does this mean because there is a section on criticism, but not praise? There seem to be lots of viewpoints, though perhaps more negativity than positivity. Either way it doesn't seem like a big issue; why not just remove that flag -- and tidy up this page a bit? — Preceding unsigned comment added by EFB.99 (talk • contribs) 18:56, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Even if you win

The reference to the "Arguing on the Internet is like running in the Special Olympics..." meme is unnecessarily vague. It's not really a meme at all; it's a particular phrase superimposed on a particular picture. One can easily guess why the image of Racer 192 is not included, since it likely is a copyrighted photo, but obfuscating the second half of the couplet seems a concession to good taste/political correctness, which would be better served by not mentioning the phenomenon at all. Asat 00:55, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

I agree, but I kind of think it should go; it doesn't belong with the tone or focus of the rest of the article. Far be it from me to be PC (I know everyone says that), but look: Special Olympics jokes are all over the place (and the best can be pretty funny); it's one of the most common off-color joke themes out there. The fact that one of the recent humorous uses of this joke template happened to be an Internet meme doesn't make it noteworthy enough to mention individually, among all the others, in the article on SO. A much better idea, I think, would be to mention the SO's general prominence in humor of this sort; that definitely go in. The other culture references are of more individual interest because they do not fit that particular well-trod theme.205.212.73.217 11:36, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Good work. BTW when did "jokes" become "memes"? Steve Dufour 18:43, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

I took off some of the trivia. South Park gets enough mention on WP already and the other 2 did not seem to be notable, being sourced only by their own websites. Steve Dufour 16:22, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

Out-dated

It's been updated as of August 2012. I think this talk page needs to be updated.KDylan1 (talk) 23:39, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

The article needs to be updated, as there is no mention of the current 2007 Special Olympics in Shanghai, China. Saphius 11:30, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

This article is about the organization called Special Olympics. The event you refer to is the Special Olympics World Games. It is listed on that page, and has its own article linked from there. - Eron ^Talk 11:34, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Whoops, my bad. However, it was very difficult to differentiate between the event and the organisation, unlike with the normal Olympics. Saphius 11:45, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I'm not sure why. I thought the first paragraph of the article was fairly clear. In any case, I've added a note to the top of the page to reinforce the distinction. - Eron ^Talk 11:46, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

That's skim-reading fer ya... ^^'; end of discussion Saphius 11:59, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

regional games

Doesn't Special Olympics also have regional competiotions? 09MurphyM (talk) 04:56, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes, there are local, state, national and regional compeitions, and this is important to know to help distinguish the everyday Special Olympics events to the once-every-two-years World Summer/World Winter Games. The page has now been updated.KDylan1 (talk) 23:27, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Why "Special"?

Why are these competitions called "Special"? To me that connotes Olympic competitions held at irregular times rather than on the regular four-year schedule. Michael Hardy (talk) 18:19, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Special is a commonly used euphemism for people who are mentally differently abled than the average person. --152.65.35.122 (talk) 17:03, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

We prefer the term “disabled” be used when talking about us instead of the term “differently abled” it is also a euphemism Mrmeme05 (talk) 14:51, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

Pointless

I removed the part that reads "They grow mentally, socially and spiritually and, through their activities, exhibit boundless courage and enthusiasm, enjoy the rewards of friendship and ultimately discover not only new abilities and talents but "their voices" as well." from the Special Olympics Inc. section. As far as I can tell absolutely none of this is verifiable, never mind the fact that it is entirely unencyclopedic, emotional and rambling. It also strikes me as rather patronising towards the athletes. Also, this entire sentence adds absolutely nothing to the previous sentence "Children and adults with intellectual disabilities who participate in Special Olympics develop improved physical fitness and motor skills, greater self-confidence and a more positive self-image.". This sentence is entirely sufficient. Enice died on on August 11 2009. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.251.57.195 (talk) 14:36, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

The Motivations for joining the Special Olympics merger

has apparently been proposed since August of last year. Please discuss in this section. 8ty3hree (talk) 10:44, 6 July 2013 (UTC)

I think the first step here is to improve Motivations for joining the Special Olympics to resolve some of the more serious issues flagged there. I don't think we can proceed with the merge until that happens. From the looks of recent edit history, I'm not sure that's going to happen anytime soon so I am mothballing the merge proposal. ~Kvng (talk) 02:22, 27 June 2016 (UTC)

Handicapism" vs. "Ablism"

To me, the latter means prejudice in favor of the handicapped, and the latter means prejudice in favor of the able-bodied. "There are many other documented reasons that people show disdain such as promotion of Handicapism, promotion of corporations, paternalism, athletic ability..." So, does this quote speak of disabled superiority or able-bodied superiority? YellowAries2010 (talk) 23:31, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

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Article on Frank Hayden

I have just started an article on Frank Hayden, one of the pioneers of the Special Olympics and mentioned here in this Special Olympics article. I would welcome any editors more knowledgeable in the Special Olympics than I to contribute to the section in the Frank Hayden article on the subject. --papageno (talk) 18:19, 8 March 2016 (UTC)

Rosemary Kennedy's Intellectual Disability.

Rosemary Kennedy is often referred as the "Hidden Kennedy". Born with intellectual disabilities her parents were determined to keep secret because she struggle to keep up with her highly competitive siblings. She was later known to serve as an inspiration to Eunice Kennedy Shriver to fund the Special Olympics. It's time history gives her disserving recognition. Luciano Paskevicius (talk) 15:50, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

Article merger

The article "Motivations for joining the Special Olympics" is a poorly written article but has some important information. It provides health, mental and other benefits for why people with disabilities should join the special olympics. It also provides some negative reasons. I think it would be better off as a section in this article, and then it could be edited into a more objective piece of writing. Overall I think the information in it is an important piece and could be added upon by providing information on how to join or contribute to the special olympics. Codystgermain (talk) 18:25, 16 September 2017 (UTC)

Bibliography Changes/Additions

I wrote previously that I thought the article "Motivations for joining the special olympics" should be merged into this article. It is important to provide evidence of exactly what the motivating factors are, and what the actual effects are of joining the special olympics. I am working on finding research that shows what effects the special olympics has on it's members activity level, participation abilities, social interaction, fitness levels and other factors. With all of these things it is very important to have peer reviewed research from credible sources. At the bottom I will provide a short bibliography of sources I have found. I would love for others to post any other sources they find that could help contribute to these proposed additions to the article.

Shapiro, Deborah (April 2003). "Participation Motives of Special Olympics Athletes". Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly. 20 (2): 150-165. doi:https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.20.2.150. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help); External link in |doi= (help)

Harada, Coreen; Siperstein, Gary (January 2009). "The Sport Experience of Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities: A National Survey of Special Olympics Athletes and Their Families". Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly. 26 (1): 68–85. doi:https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.26.1.68. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help); External link in |doi= (help)

Kersh, Joanne; Siperstein, Gary. "The Positive Contributions of Special Olympics to the Family" (PDF). Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center.

Weiss, Jonathan; Diamond, Terry; Demark, Jenny; Lovald, Benedicte (July–August 2003). "Involvement in Special Olympics and its relations to self-concept and actual competency in participants with developmental disabilities". Research in Developmental Disabilities. 24 (4): 281–305. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-4222(03)00043-X. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help); External link in |doi= (help)

Codystgermain (talk) 20:11, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

Connection to Olympic Games

There is no discussed link to how the Olympics, Paralympics, and Special Olympics interact with each other. Athletes from all sides join forces for speaking, fundraising, and in their sport to support each other and the sport they love. It will help bridge the gap between the Olympics, Paralympics, and Special Olympics by adding a section on how they connect and cooperate with each other.

Bibliography for further investigation on the connection between the Special Olympics, Paralympics and Olympics Wolbring, Gregor (2008). "Oscar Pistorius and the future nature of Olympic, Paralympic and other sports" (PDF). Scripted. 5: 139-160.

Harada, Coreen M.; Siperstein, Gary N.; Parker, Robin C.; Lenox, David (2011-11-01). "Promoting social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities through sport: Special Olympics International, global sport initiatives and strategies". Sport in Society. 14 (9): 1131-1148. doi:10.1080/17430437.2011.614770.

"Special Olympics: Ties between Special Olympics and Paralympics". www.specialolympics.org. Retrieved 2017-09-29.

Morris116084 (talk) 12:26, 29 September 2017 (UTC)Morris116084Morris116084 (talk) 12:26, 29 September 2017 (UTC)

Special Olympics Eligibility

I think the article is well written and well rounded to include many different sports and what history is included, but I feel that it does not emphasize the criteria required to be included in the Special Olympics. To be eligible, the person must be at least 8 years of age and be identified by a professional as having an intellectual disability, cognitive delay measured by a formal assessment, or have significant learning or vocational problems due to a cognitive delay that requires special instruction. There is also another program called the Special Olympics for Young Athletes which was created for children with intellectual disabilities for ages 2 to 7. Hoodryan24 (talk) 19:58, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

Ideas for Improvements

I think the article is overall well written and provided good information regarding the history of the Special Olympics. However, I think the critic section does not sound very neutral. It would be helpful to work on that section a little by editing it a little to make it sound more neutral between the two sides. Another idea is maybe to add a picture of the Special Olympics logo, that way people would make the connection if they ever see the sign out and about. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thibault110583 (talk • contribs) 23:20, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

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50th Anniversary

The first Olympics was July 20, 1968. It would be nice if we can get this to WP:OTD, but we need to make some edits to get it good enough, remove the tag, and source it all. Perhaps remove to the talk page at least one section (See also WP:SEAOFBLUE) we cannot source right away. Any thoughts or concerns on this? -- Alanscottwalker (talk) 00:25, 16 July 2018 (UTC)

Famous supporters

The Special Olympics movement has attracted the support of a number of international sportsmen and other celebrities, including Rafer Johnson, Avril Lavigne, Bono, Joe Jonas, Dikembe Mutombo, Derek Poundstone, Pádraig Harrington, Jackie Chan, Zhou Xun, Zhang Ziyi, Yao Ming, Nadia Comaneci, Bart Conner, Vanessa Williams, Mary Alice Pearce DeVane, Ricardo Montaner, Colin Farrell and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Quincy Jones took part in a 2003 Global Youth Summit at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland. U.S. President Bill Clinton took part in a Global Youth Summit during the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Eloísa García Etchegoyhen who served for 20 years at the Organization of American States Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN) (1966–1986) as the head of the Special Education and Early Childhood Division, brought the Special Olympics program to Uruguay.

In 2011, Princess Charlene of Monaco, herself a former Olympian, was named as a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics. Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps was also named a Global Ambassador and has taken part in aquatics clinics for Special Olympics swimmers in Shanghai, China and elsewhere. Other celebrity supporters include Olympic stars Michelle Kwan, Apolo Ohno, Yuna Kim, Yang Yang (A), and Scott Hamilton, and other sport greats Dikembe Mutombo, Pádraig Harrington, Andre Drummond, Andre Drummond, Vladimir Grbic, Damian Lillard, In-Kyung Kim, Dani Alves and Kaká, along with celebrities including Zhang Ziyi, Yang Lan, Brooklyn Decker, Lauren Alaina, Nicole Sherzinger, and the Wonder Girls. More recently, Olympic snowboarder Hannah Teter, Japanese football legend Hidetoshi Nakata, and WNBA player Elena Delle Donne, whose older sister Lizzie has multiple disabilities, were named Global Ambassadors in 2014. Newest Global Ambassadors include Joe Haden, Maria Menounos, Nancy O'Dell and Jamaal Charles.

In 2015, A lot of celebrities attended the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles. President Barack Obama welcomed participants and their fans via video. While the president was not able to physically be there, First Lady Michelle Obama made the trip and formally declared the games open. Opening Ceremonies performers included Stevie Wonder, Avril Lavigne, O.A.R., Cody Simpson (featuring Special Olympics athlete Breanna Bogucki and YouTube sensation Madison Tevlin), Nicole Scherzinger, J Balvin, and Siedah Garrett. Other celebrities making appearances were Jimmy Kimmel, Eva Longoria, Michael Phelps, Yao Ming, Greg Louganis, Stephanie McMahon, and Lauren Potter. Also seen at the games were Ben Vereen, Vanessa Williams, Rafer Johnson, Donna de Varona, James Worthy and Dikembe Mutombo. At the Closing Ceremonies, there were special performances by artists Carly Rae Jepsen, O.A.R. and Andra Day. Also involved in the ceremonies were Victoria Arlen and David Egan.

References

50 years old not 51

Recently on June 7th and 8th at the university of Maine the Special Olympics celebrated the 50th annaverity of the founding of Special Olympics — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.173.75.221 (talk) 00:35, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: JUS 437 Justice and Disability The Social Construction of Disability

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 28 August 2024 and 20 November 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Emyers6 (article contribs). Peer reviewers: A.czup, Karminamontserrat.

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