Get Involved - Athlete Eligibilty
Athlete Eligibility for Participation in Special Olympics GB
The following points are extracts from the Special Olympics General and Sports Rules, setting down criteria for athlete eligibility for Special Olympics.
1. General Statement of Eligibility.
Special Olympics training and competition is open to every person with a learning disability¹ who is at least eight years of age and who is registered to participate in Special Olympics as required by the general rules.
¹The Special Olympics Inc. rules always refer to ‘intellectual disability’ as this is the accepted terminology in both the USA and much of Europe. However SOGB always uses the term ‘learning disability’.
2. Age requirements
There is no maximum age limitation for participation in Special Olympics. The minimum age requirement for participation in Special Olympics is eight years of age. Children who are at least six years old may participate in age appropriate Special Olympics training programmes.
3. Identifying persons with a learning disability.
A person is considered to have a learning disability for the purposes of determining his or her eligibility to participate in Special Olympics if that person satisfies any one of the following requirements:
- The person has been identified by an agency or professional as having a learning disability as determined by their localities;
- The person has a cognitive delay, as determined by standardized measures such as intelligent quotient or ‘IQ’ testing or other measures that are generally accepted within the professional community in that Accredited Programme’s nation (GB) as being a reliable measurement of the existence of cognitive delay;
- The person has a closely related developmental disability. A ‘closely related developmental disability’ means having functional limitations in both general learning (such as IQ) and in adaptive skills (such as in recreation, work, independent living, self direction or self care). However, persons whose functional limitations are based solely on a physical, behavioural, or emotional disability, or a specific learning or sensory disability, are not eligible but may be able to volunteer for Special Olympics as partners in Unified Sports® if they otherwise meet the separate eligibility requirements for participation in Unified Sports® as set forth in the Sports Rules.
Explanatory notes for Parents, Guardians, Carers etc.
SOGB receives many enquiries from people who are uncertain whether their son or daughter is eligible to participate in Special Olympics . It is important to draw a distinction between people who have a general learning disability (who are eligible for Special Olympics) and those with as specific learning difficulty (who will usually be ineligible). Conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder (ADD) or challenging behaviour are all specific learning difficulties and people with these conditions are not eligible for Special Olympics unless they also have a general learning disability. Similarly people with a physical or sensory impairment do not qualify for Special Olympics unless they also have a learning disability.
If you are still uncertain you should be able to get advice from your local authority education or social services department.
People with a learning difficulty who are currently or have recently been in the education system should have been assessed and given a Statement of Special Educational Need. Parents/guardians should have been given a copy of this or can obtain one if they were not. This should contain the information that you need to determine whether someone is eligible for Special Olympics. If you are still unclear, an educational psychologist from your local education department should be able to advise you.
There has been much debate about the validity of IQ tests as an indicator of learning disability. However they are still widely carried out as part of the ‘statementing’ process described above. Within the UK it is usual to classify someone with an IQ of 75 or below as having a learning disability and this is the figure accepted by SOGB.
Please remember that a Special Olympics coach or volunteer may or may not work with people with a learning disability in a professional capacity but is unlikely to be qualified to make a definitive judgment on whether someone is eligible for Special Olympics or not.
Finally a word about books, journals and the internet; These can be valuable sources of information about all forms of disability. However, definitions vary from country to country and it is not always easy to see where a book or article has originated from. If you find something that describes a particular condition as being a ‘learning disability’ it does not necessarily mean that it would be classified as such in the U.K.
