The
Special Olympics USA Games is a national
Special Olympics event held every four years in the United States. The History of the special Olympics dates back to 1962 when Eunice Kennedy Shriver held day camp for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Six years later in 1968 the first ever International Special Olympics were held. 26 states along with representatives from Canada participated, and the games were held at Soldier Field in Chicago. At the original Special Olympic games only 3 sporting events were offered track and field, swimming, and floor hockey.
2006 Special Olympics USA Games The first, quadrennial, USA National Games were held July 1–8, 2006, in
Ames, Iowa. The city of Ames and
Iowa State University hosted over 3,000
athletes from all 50 states in 13 sports, including
aquatics,
basketball,
bocce,
bowling,
golf, artistic
gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics,
powerlifting,
soccer,
softball,
tennis,
track and field, and
volleyball. • Aquatics – Held at Byer Hall at the university of Iowa. Representatives from 48 states competed. • Basketball – Held at Ballard high school and Ames middle school. A total of 41 teams competed. • Bocce – Held at Leid recreation center at the university of Iowa. 37 states were represented. • Bowling – Held at Des Moines AMF lanes, 48 states were represented. • Golf – Held at Ames golf & country club and Coldwater Golf Links. 41 states were represented. • Gymnastics – Held at Ames high school 25 states were represented. • Powerlifting – Held at Stephens auditorium campus art theater. 41 states were represented. • Soccer – Held at the Iowa state university soccer fields. 21 states were represented. • Softball – Held at River valley softball complex. 27 teams made up of 327 teams competed. • Tennis – Held at forker tennis courts. 23 states were represented by 87 athletes. • Track and Field – Held at Ames high school track. 49 states were represented by 499 athletes. • Volleyball – Held at the University of Iowa’s Forker gymnasium. 16 teams comprising 188 athletes competed. The Opening Ceremony was held at
Prudential Center in
Newark. Competition was held at venues throughout Mercer County including
The College of New Jersey in the
Trenton suburb of
Ewing,
Rider University,
Princeton University and
Mercer County Park. The budget for the event exceeded $15M. The Games Founding Partners included 21st Century Fox, Barnabas Health, HESS, KPMG, NJSEA, Prudential, PSE&G, ShopRite, Toys"R"Us and WWE. The ending ceremony consisted of a unified festival. The festival consisted of whiffle ball, bocce, kickball, football, soccer, and Zumba. The event was held to bring attention to the volunteers and the community of New Jersey.
Baseball was introduced as a sport at the USA Games for the first time, with four teams – from Alabama, Delaware, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. The gold– and bronze–medal games were played in
Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton. The
triathlon was held for the first time.
2022 Special Olympics USA Games The 2022 Special Olympics USA Games were held in
Orlando, Florida, from June 5-11, 2022. The USA Games featured 5,500 athletes and coaches from all 50 states and The Caribbean. The opening ceremony was held on June 5 at
Exploria Stadium and was produced by
Disney Live Entertainment featuring performances from
Sara Bareilles and others.
2026 Special Olympics USA Games The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games will be held in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Area. Most events will be held at the University of Minnesota campus. ==See also==