Australia

Sport for Social Good

Asia Pacific World Sport and Women conference Sydney Cricket Ground October 27 & 28th, 2014

Ms. Nicola Stokes Chief Executive Officer Special Olympics Australia

Different

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Photo by Peter Muhlbock/Special Olympics Australia.

About Us Special Olympics Australia is a volunteer organisation that strives to ensure that everyone living with an intellectual disability has the opportunity to participate in sport.

We do this by creating accessible sports training, coaching and competition pathways that allow people with an intellectual disability to reach their personal best – in sport and in life.

The Statistics

  500,000 Australians live with an intellectual disability   Every two hours another Australian child is diagnosed   People with an intellectual disability form the largest disability population in the world   They face a 40% greater risk of health issues than the general population   45% of Australians with a disability live in or near poverty

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The Olympic Community

The Olympics, Paralympics and Special Olympics believe in the power of sport to change lives, yet each organisation is quite different:   The Olympics is a major event for elite athletes without a disability   The Paralympics is a major event for elite athletes with a disability, mainly physical   Special Olympics is a year-round sports for people with an intellectual disability, of all skill levels

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Ability Not Disability

Our objective is to increase the number of people with an intellectually disability who participate in sport as a means of building self-esteem, self-confidence and friendship.

By focussing on sporting ability our athletes get an opportunity to demonstrate to the Australian community what people with an intellectual disability can achieve – rather than what they can’t.

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Competition Pathways

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Photo by Peter Muhlbock/Special Olympics Australia.

Initiatives Our winter sports program provides a national structure and a pathway for Special Olympics Australia athletes. Currently we offer skiing and snowboarding, both recreationally and competitively – from the first-timer to the well-seasoned international competitor – we have partnered with Disability Winter Sport Australia to run our winter sports program.

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Photo by Peter Muhlbock/Special Olympics Australia.

Initiatives We have teamed up with ANZ Bank and Netball Australia to provide people with an intellectual disability who currently do not play sport the opportunity to play netball, with an initial aim of 500 new participants in 2015.

Netball also offers us an opportunity to recruit more females to our program and even up the gender divide.

Initiatives

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Healthy Athletes

Health Athletes is delivered by volunteer medical professionals who provide free health screenings across a number of disciplines.

Athlete Leadership Program

We encourage athletes to be leaders both on and off the field through our Athlete Leadership Programs.

Speechless

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Joy! Use the Picture and Caption

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Photo by Peter Muhlbock/Special Olympics Australia.

Find out more at:

www.specialolympics.com.au

twitter.com/SOAustralia

Facebook – SpecialOlympicsAustralia

Linkedin – groups/ Special-Olympics-Australia

Instagram@SOAustralia

Thank You