When the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games open in July 2015, it will be a world stage for people with intellectual disabilities to show their strength, skill, courage and determination.View Story ▼When the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games open in July 2015, it will be a world stage for people with intellectual disabilities to show their strength, skill, courage and determination.
The Games in Los Angeles, California, "will change the lives of people around the world who are mistreated and excluded because they’re ‘different,’” said Patrick McClenahan, President and Chief Executive Officer of LA2015, the Games Organizing Committee. The Games also are a chance for spectators and volunteers to have their preconceptions about people with intellectual disabilities changed forever. Getting involved with the Games by cheering from the stands or handing out cups of water to thirsty athletes is a sure way to change your view of people of all kinds.
Special Olympics World Games -- and all of the 80,000 Special Olympics competitions that occur every year--invite the public to see the talents and capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities. It's a way to open eyes, to change attitudes and to break down barriers that have excluded people with ID from the mainstream of community. The 2015 Games will feature competitions in aquatics, gymnastics, track and field, basketball, football (soccer) and many other summer sports involving 7,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from around the world.'Los Angeles is set to welcome more than 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from 170 nations to compete in 25 Olympic-type sports.
About Christy White:I am the director of Global Media and Public Relations for Special Olympics.
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