Reporting Guidelines
What to Emphasize When Reporting on Special Olympics
Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition for
children and adults with intellectual disabilities or closely related
developmental disabilities.
These athletes, who may or may not have a physical disability, represent
programs from over 140 countries from all the major continents.
Special Olympics operates on funds raised at the international,
national, state and local levels from corporations, individuals, special
events and grants.
Special Olympics is sports, competition and socialization, meaning that
the benefits include not only fitness coordination and cardiovascular
improvements but also confidence, discipline, self-esteem, and fun.
From the start, Special Olympics has made training the priority and has
established strict guidelines to ensure that every athlete receives
quality training before competing.
To improve the quality of training, Special Olympics instituted a
program of coaches training curriculum and certification in 1981.
Every athlete who competes in Special Olympics events will compete
against athletes of similar ability, since athletes are placed in
competition divisions according to previous times or scores, age, and,
where appropriate, gender.
Special Olympics serves the needs of athletes of all ability levels,
including those with more severe intellectual disabilities or closely related
disabilities in addition to intellectual disabilities; and high-functioning
athletes who may be able to move into mainstream sports or participate
in Unified SportsŪ Leagues.
Special Olympics has organizations in place from the local level right
up to the international level. Every state (Chapter) and National
Special Olympics program has its own staff, its own board of directors,
and its own network of area, provincial, and local programs. There are
more than 25,000 local Special Olympics programs around the world.
Special Olympics Inc. is officially recognized and endorsed by the
International Olympic Committee and is the first organization other than
a National Olympic Committee to be recognized.
Special Olympics is endorsed and supported by the National Governing
Bodies of the sports which it offers, and competitions are conducted
according to the rules of those bodies, with appropriate adaptations.
These rules are in the Official Special Olympics Summer and Winter Rules
books.
Photography Suggestions
Photographs tell a thousand words, and photos of our athletes and
volunteers truly tell the Special Olympics story. The best photos are
good action-packed, emotion-evoking images of the following:
- Athletes competing or training in
approved Special Olympics sports. They should be properly outfitted
for the sport in which they are participating. It is preferred that
the athletes' uniform and banners in the photograph identify the event
as Special Olympics.
- Athletes interacting with other
athletes, parents, volunteers, coaches, and so on.
- Athletes receiving awards.
- Athletes of a variety of ages, race,
and gender representing individual and team sports.
Make an effort to avoid:
- Too many photos of athletes competing
in track and field.
- Too many photos of athletes on
crutches or walkers or using wheelchairs. (There is a broad public
perception that Special Olympics is a program only for people with
intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities.)
- Athletes participating in non-Special
Olympics sports such as football, bean bag toss, or Frisbee throwing.
- Athletes with clowns or athletes
wearing clown makeup.
- Children who appear to be younger than
8 years old.
Photography Release Statement
No athlete may compete in any Special Olympics event without having a
signed parent/guardian release statement on file with Special Olympics.
The statement grants permission for Special Olympics and the media to
use the athlete's name, likeness, voice and words in television, radio,
films, newspapers, magazines, and other media for the purpose of
promoting and publicizing Special Olympics, educating the public about
Special Olympics and raising funds for Special Olympics.
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