By Ian Miller
The roaring cheer of the crowd, the pumping adrenaline and excitement, the exhilaration of being one step closer to the finish line…competing in sports is a magical experience. Being an athlete is one of those things which crosses all societal boundaries, be it gender, race, age, or individual ability. This article is about a special organization which allows a special group of athletes to compete and earn the right to be called a champion.
This organization is known as the Special Olympics; like The Golden Scoop, the Special Olympics is also a partner of KC Mavericks. Their mission is to provide uniquely abled athletes with the opportunity to compete in sports of all types and to support them along their journey to become a Special Olympics champion! From training to competing, the Special Olympics allows aspiring athletes to compete at a level that they only dreamed of.
Like Variety, the Special Olympics today is a globe-spanning organization, with chapters in 172 countries around the world. Each year, over four million athletes compete in upwards of 100,000 individual sporting events, including the main Summer and Winter Special Olympic Games, held annually at the same time as the regular Olympic Games. (In 2005, Ireland was the first country outside of the United States to host the Special Olympic Summer Games.)
It all began at a Maryland home owned by a woman named Eunice Shriver (1921-2009) in the early 1960s. Shriver saw how poorly people with intellectual and physical disabilities were treated daily, and no public sporting or athletic programs were open to them, due to people with special needs being seen as “difficult,” “unteachable,” and “belligerent” at the time. Shriver, always a champion of treating people with respect and fairness, sought to provide a place where uniquely abled children could practice exercises and various sports, such as swimming, running, horseback riding, track and field, and more.
She quickly discovered that, far from being the difficult and unruly children that society viewed them as, these children simply wanted to have fun playing sports and exercising, just like any other child. Inspired, she continued to host “Camp Shriver” activities at her home each year onwards until 2006, when she was no longer able to host the event. From the beginning, an important part of Camp Shriver, at Shriver’s insistence, was the inclusion of children without disabilities, as well, so they could learn to play and interact with children of differing abilities from their own.
From day one, the summer camp was an instant success, bringing people from the community to watch the activities, and soon, local word began to spread, and a movement was born. This new movement quickly grew from a small summer camp into something Shriver could have only dreamed of at the start. Four years after Camp Shriver began, the Special Olympics was created and rapidly spread, first across the country, and soon, across the world.
Find the Golden Scoop at these locations:
9540 Nall Avenue
Overland Park, Kansas 66207
913-284-804410460 W 103rd Street
Overland Park, Kansas 66214
913-232-9639Hours:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday-Saturday: 8am-7pm
Sunday @103rd: 9am-5pm
Sunday @ 95th: 1pm-5pm
