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Special Olympics Canada Mission:
"Enriching the lives of Canadians with an intellectual disability through sport."
Origins of the Special Olympics Movement
Forty years ago a researcher at the University of Toronto conducted a study of the motor-skill development and fitness levels of children with intellectual disabilities.
He demonstrated that their deficits in coordination and fitness were the result of a sedentary life style, not a consequence of their disabilities.
He believed, moreover, that a sport program, not a fitness regimen, would most effectively address the needs of people with intellectual disabilities.
The research scientist, Dr. Frank Hayden, went on to develop his ideas under the auspices of The Kennedy Foundation in Washington, DC.
The Result: An international sport organization, now firmly established in over 150 countries, with an enrolment of over two million athletes world-wide. This is Special Olympics.
The Movement in Canada
Canada and the United States were the only countries to participate in the first Special Olympics Games, held at Soldier Field in Chicago in the summer of 1968.
Later that year, Harry "Red" Foster, a Toronto sportsman and business leader formally founded the Special Olympics Canada organization and became its first Chairman.
National Games were held in Toronto in 1969 with competition in athletics, aquatics and floor hockey. Over the next 15 years, the movement flourished, and Special Olympics organizations were incorporated in all 10 provinces and 2 territories.
Sport That Enriches Lives
Early in the life of the Special Olympics movement, it became evident that physical fitness and improved health were by no means the only benefits of this program.
Sport has proven to be a particularly apt vehicle for the emotional and social development of people with intellectual disabilities, and Special Olympics has also had a positive impact on families, volunteers and our society.
- Several studies* have shown that Special Olympics contributes to a growth in confidence and self-esteem, precisely because sport requires the acquisition and application of skill which carries with it a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
- Sport is a social activity that requires personal interaction with others, leading to friendships and camaraderie in the pursuit of common goals.
- Special Olympics provides a support network for families and an opportunity to share common experiences with others. Moreover, the success of their intellectually disabled children is a source of great pride for parents and siblings.
- Special Olympics encourages society to view people with intellectual disabilities in a new light: as people possessing skill and wonderful human qualities of courage, determination, and a capacity for friendship.
- At provincial, national and world games we see entire communities investing their civic pride in the athletic achievements of those among them with intellectual disabilities. What community wouldn't be the kinder and richer for that?
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