People Special Disabilities Olympics Watching Competitors Compete Games

The Special Olympics are "similar" to (almost the same as) the regular Olympics in that it is a series of sports events held every four years. However, the competitors are different. In the Special Olympics, the competitors are people who have "disabilities," meaning that they have a physical or "mental" (intellectual) problem that has slowed their development and growth and makes it more difficult for them to complete common daily "tasks" (things that need to be done).

The Special Olympics were "founded" (created) in 1968 as a way to help people with disabilities feel more "confident" (sure that one can do something) about themselves and learn to interact with other people socially. More than 180 countries send more than 2.5 million competitors with disabilities to the Special Olympics.

In the Special Olympics, people with disabilities compete in many different sports, including basketball, cycling, gymnastics, tennis, volleyball, skiing, and much, much more. The athletes compete against others who have "approximately" (about) the same abilities that they do. In other words, people with "severe" (very strong) disabilities compete against each other, but not against people with less serious disabilities.

Many people think that watching the Special Olympics is "inspirational" (giving people new and exciting ideas about what they can do and how they should live their lives), because they see people "overcoming" (moving beyond and not being stopped by something) their disabilities and trying to do the best they can. In the Special Olympics, the "emphasis" (the important part of something) is not on winning, but rather on doing one's best, as shown in the "oath" (a serious and official statement) taken by all the participants: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be 'brave' (courageous) in the 'attempt' (try)."