Thrilling Competition
For athletes of all abilities, competition is an opportunity to challenge themselves, measure their progress and test their skills.
The fundamental difference in Special Olympics New York competitions is that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate. Competitions are structured so that athletes compete with others of similar ability.
And while every athlete will not win, each athlete will be recognized for his or her participation, no matter where he or she places.
For athletes of all abilities, competition is an opportunity to challenge themselves, measure their progress and test their skills.
The fundamental difference in Special Olympics New York competitions is that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate. Competitions are structured so that athletes compete with others of similar ability.
And while every athlete will not win, each athlete will be recognized for his or her participation, no matter where he or she places.
Athletes are assigned to divisions within each sport based on ability, prior competition performance, age and gender. Ideally, each division at a contest is made up of three to eight competitors or teams, although this is not always possible.
The primary focus in creating divisions is to provide Special Olympics New York athletes with quality competition. This also gives the athletes the opportunity to learn the life changing lessons found in competitive sports.
Local, regional and super regional events in New York State are open to all athletes with unlimited allocations.
For state, national and world games, quotas determine how many athletes advance to the next level of competition. If the number of eligible athletes exceeds the quota, athletes and teams are selected to advance based on recent finishes at lower level competitions.