BADMINTON Special Olympics Sports Skills Program

18. Although Special Olympics is primarily and essentially
a program of sports training and competition, efforts are
made to offer or to cooperate with others who offer, as
an integral part of Special Olympics Games, a full range
of artistic, social, and cultural experiences such as dances,
a rt exhibits, concerts, visits to historic sites, clinics, theatrical
and motion picture performances, and similar activ i t i e s .
19. In some countries with newly created Special Olympics
Programs it may not be possible, due to economic or
other circumstances, to organize nationwide Games.
In this case, SOI may authorize such programs to focus
on area or Regional Games with the goal of increasing
public awareness of the capabilities of individuals with
intellectual disabilities.
20. All Special Olympics training and competitions must
be conducted under the auspices of an organization
specifically accredited and sanctioned by SOI to conduct
Special Olympics Programs.
2 1 . To the greatest extent possible, Special Olympics activ i t i e s
should be organized by and invo l ve local volunteers, from
school- and college-age individuals to senior citizens, from
c ivic clubs to businesses, to create greater opport u n i t i e s
for public understanding of and participation with people
with intellectual disabilities.
22. The families of Special Olympics athletes are encouraged
to play an active role in their community Special Oly m p i c s
Program, to share in the training of their athletes, and to
assist in the public education effort needed to create
greater understanding of the emotional, physical, social,
and spiritual needs of people with intellectual disabilities
and their families.
2 3 . Special Olympics recognizes the contributions and encourages
the participation of other organizations such as
schools, parks, and recreational departments, institutions
caring for the mentally handicapped, and independent
l iving centers that conduct sports training for indiv i d u a l s
with intellectual disabilities. Accredited Special Olympics
Programs should encourage such organizations to train
athletes in accordance with Special Olympics rules to
facilitate the athletes’participation in Special Olympics
competitions.
Special Olympics Badminton Sports Skills Program
Eligibility for Participation
in Special Olympics
Special Olympics trainings and competitions are open to
every person with intellectual disabilities who is at least
eight years of age and who registers to participate in
Special Olympics as required by the General Rules.
There is no maximum age limitation for participation in
Special Olympics. The minimum age requirement for part i c i -
pation in Special Olympics is at least eight years of age. A n
Accredited Program may permit children who are at least five
years old to participate in age-appropriate Special Oly m p i c s
training programs offered by that Accredited Program, or in
s p e c i fic (and age-appropriate) cultural or social activ i t i e s
o ffered during the course of a Special Olympics event. Such
children may be recognized for their participation in such
training or other noncompetitive activities through cert i fi c a t e s
of participation or through other types of recog n i t i o n
a p p r oved by SOI that are not associated with participation in
Special Olympics competition. Howeve r, no child may
p a rticipate in a Special Olympics competition (or be awa r d e d
medals or ribbons associated with competition) before his or
her eighth birt h d ay.
Participation in Special Olympics training and competition
is open to all persons with intellectual disabilities who meet
the age requirements, regardless of the level or gdegree
of that
person’s disability, and whether or not that person also has
other mental or physical disabilities, so long as that person
registers to participate in Special Olympics as required by
the General Rules.
A person is considered to have intellectual disabilities for
purposes of determining his or her eligibility to participate
in Special Olympics if that person satisfies any one of the
following requirements:
1. Has been identified by an agency or professional as
having intellectual disabilities as determined locally; OR
2. Has cognitive delay, as determined by standardized
measures such as intelligence quotient or IQ testing or
other measures that are generally accepted within the
professional community in that Accredited Program’s
nation as being a reliable measurement of the existence
of a cognitive delay; OR
3. Has a closely related developmental disability. A “ c l o s e ly
related developmental disability” means having functional
limitations in both general learning (such as IQ) and in
adaptive skills (such as recreation, work, independent
l iving, self-direction, or self-care). Howeve r, persons whose
functional limitations are based solely on a physical,
behavioral, or emotional disability, or a specific learning
or sensory disability, are not eligible to participate as Special
Olympics athletes. These individuals may be eligible to
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