Benefits of Special Olympics The athletes are all lined up to race. A handful from each county, with their hometown flag across their chest. The sound of the gun rings in their ears, and they push off and take off running with the smell of gunpowder filling their nose. The crowd roars and it is just a mix of colors and faces. Everyone is looking at them, cheering for them. The games is so much more than competing though. Many think that the special olympics has no benefits for the athletes and is just fun, but that is not the case. The athletes and community grow physically emotionally, and with their medical finances.
In 1968, Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded an organization many know as The Special Olympics (SO). This is a non-profit organization established to provide children and adults with any intellectual disability sports training and competition opportunities. It started as as summer day camp for children with any intellectual disability (ID); “the children” could go to her backyard and
…show more content…
Approximately half of all Special Olympics Athletes from the United States, China, and Latin America engage in physical activity or exercise for more than three hours per week not including Special Olympics practices/events. Only 25 percent of the general population engage in three hours or more of physical activity per week. The athletes are putting in this amount of time on their own, away from their SO practices and events. Now, the coaches have a free tool provided by The Special Olympics, called Strive. With this program, the coaches can test the athlete 's current state of physical fitness. Most of the coaches keep these numbers on file to show the improvement of the athletes overtime. Not only does it test the current physical level, it also give athletes different workouts, diets, and plans to help them and the coach meet a certain
Thus, through my personal principles and values I show great strength of One of these causes, the Miracle League of the South Hills is particularly close to my heart. A friend of my mother has a child who is severely autistic, and all my life my family and I have volunteered for many organizations to help special needs children, of all of these Miracle League has left the greatest impression on me. Ghandi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others,” and that is exactly what has happened to me during my long term association with the Miracle League. I truly believe my association with this organization has helped me to become a better person, more kind, caring, outgoing, and energetic. Miracle League was founded on the belief that, “Every child deserves a chance to play baseball.”
The second thing a coach has to do is assess the athlete. Then they need to find out what type of runner the athlete is. That way they can design a workout program that will prove to be the most effective with that person. Every athlete i...
The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”
Modern Day Olympics are a huge tradition that sweeps the screens of televisions across the world. Competitors take the arena with uniforms that dawn their countries colors and designs that are meant to resemble their designated flag. For months the news is centered around the games; the preparation, the athletes, and of course the competition. Countries aren 't obsessed, they are inspired and full of pride seeing athletes from their country compete and show their incredible skill. This tradition dates back to ancient Greece where the games began. Tony Perrottet writes about the traditions of the ancient game in his book The Naked Olympics.
Special Olympics is an association that allows the disabled to be active by participating and competing in the sport events. In the 1950s through the 1960s, Eunice Kennedy Shriver realized the difference in the way people acted toward the special needs population and the difference in the way people acted toward others. She began to think about the disadvantages of the disabled and their ability to do activities. She knew they were capable of doing some activities, but no one tried to make a difference in the way the special needs were treated. Shriver hated the fact that the disabled were ignored because people didn’t believe the special needs people were the same as others (Meyer).
The Olympic Games are the leading worldwide sport event that held every 4 years, featuring thousands of international athletes from more than 200 nations participating in a variety of sports competitions. Although the Games are about winning the sports competitions, they also provide a platform for the nations throughout the world to learn different cultures and share uniqueness. The Games are important, and have to be held because they transmit a message of friendship and peaceful between nations.
The Olympic Games plays a significant role in the world. The relationship between it and host countries is important to investigate for comprehending cultural studies. According to Xu and Kirby (2008), the Olympic Games has a considerable impact on the expression of national identity. For example, London applied this approach to promote its national identity. This can be discovered from the BBC video called James Bond escorts The Queen to the opening ceremony in 2012 (2012): an amiable identity is perceived by the audience through presenting corgi at Buckingham Palace. Moreover, China is no exception. There is an image about the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, it shows a spectacular drumming performance. In addition, an article about
During the Cold War, the Olympics were severely influenced by politics, regardless of their original values. Almost fifty countries boycotted in the Moscow Olympic or did not participate in the opening ceremony. The athletes could not fight under the national flag. People cannot call this as the biggest, worldwide sporting event with which we enjoy supporting and cheering on the athletes. Certain Olympic games are indelibly associated with politics (Runciman 39). These relationships severely ruin the original values of the Olympics and cause serious problems. For example, intentional selection of the host countries, unfair judgments and the opportunity to get medals, segregation, and certain problematic actions such as boycotts and controversial performance. Clearly, some IOC members disagreed with the insertion of politics into the Olympics (Whiteside). The Tokyo Olympics will take place in Japan during the year 2020, and the Olympics will last for long in our future. To save and maintain the original values of the Olympics and keep it as a worldwide, enjoyable sporting event, people in the host countries, and all participants of the Olympics, including the audiences should keep their politics out of it.
The purpose of this training program is to evaluate an individual’s fitness to get an idea as to how they would start training for a Sprint Distance Triathlon. Before developing a fitness plan for any individual, regardless of their fitness level or sport, it is important to understand their level of fitness. Testing the individual allows one to evaluate the body’s functional ability, which can give us insight into the individual’s overall health and wellness, as well as their athletic capacity (Haff & Damke, 2012). Flexibility, reaction time, strength and power, lung capacity, and overall body shape and size are all variables that can affect a triathlete’s performance in all three sports. The swimming portion of the triathlon is the first
For my community agency hours I chose to volunteer with the Special Olympics. I chose this agency because my high school always hosted Special Olympics and I enjoyed volunteering every year as a buddy. Going into their experience I did not know what to expect since it was on the weekend and not at my high school as I was used to. The event took place on April 30th at Westminster Christian Academy. It was a long day, but definitely worth it. I was paired with a 45 year old male named Kevin who I suspect had Down Syndrome. This experience was different from all my other volunteering with Special Olympics in the matter that my buddy was not a child, but a grown adult. I found that having an adult had both its challenges and advantages. I found
Well, now that sports wheelchairs have been created, even truly disabled people are able to compete with others. These wheelchairs are able to achieve this, by being created with light, strong metals, and having the wheels tilted at a slight angle. This angle allows the balance required for quick turns and speed. And now, the Paralympics have been organized. These Paralympics allow disabled people to take home the gold like any other olympian would.
Abstract: The Special Olympics not only give special athletes athletic skills, they offer more opportunity, encouragement, and dexterity to survive in society than the public school system alone. To understand the differences and similarities between handicapped athletes and their non-handicap peers is the first step in creating a program that best meets the child's needs. There were no community programs that catered to the mentally and physically challenged, so Eunice Kennedy-Shriver created "special games" in her back yard for her handicapped child. Shriver established the Special Olympics in 1968. Today there are more than one million special athletes competing in 140 countries. There are some problems with relying on the public school system to seek a child's full potential in the special education programs. The Special Olympics, however, have found an effective method of preparing children, teens, and adults for society through sport. The diverse selection of sports, their rules, and physical demands, is an advantage when there is a huge range of disabilities. There is a program offered for almost everyone. People who benefit from these games range from the athletes themselves, the officials, coaches, caregivers, parents, to the spectators and on-site first aid staff. Mrs. Kennedy-Shriver said this in regard to special athletes, "through sports, they can realize their potential for growth." Over and over this fantastic organization has demonstrated integrity, good sportsmanship, and goal oriented programs that work!
Volunteers are the backbone of organizing a strong and successful Olympic Games. They are the reason each Olympic Games runs smoothly and are always enjoyable to watch. What these volunteers might not obtain with money, they do obtain in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We are able to look at past successful Olympic Games volunteer programs such as Sydney and London and construct our own for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The summer Olympic games isone of the most prestigious events in world history. Olympic games started in Athens in 776B.C.E, mostly to praise all the gods but also to show political peace throughout Greece. Olympic games gave people chance to show off there skills and also to become well known to become known as a legend. These games really brought the community together it created and maintained a common bond. Only the best of the best athletes came and competed in the events. These games affected the political status so the created a The "Olympic Truce” which was established in ancient Greece in the 9th century BC between three kings. During the Truce period, athletes, artists and their families could travel in total safety to participate in or attend the Olympic games and return afterwards to their respective countries. (" Olympic Movement Promotes Peace Worldwide. ) There were four crucial parts in the history of the Olympic games starting with the start in 776B.C.E, then 1896, 1970/1980s, and lastly modern day Olympic games. This work is an evolutionary piece denoting change and continuities over time in the Olympic games.
There are many benefits gained from participating in team sports. Team participation can build self esteem, promote social interaction and help one gain a sense of responsibility. Being involved in a team sport can also help you to attain personal fitness goals and maintain wellness. The time spent practicing with a team, will improve your skills and give you countless hours of enjoyment.