What is the difference between the Paralympics and the Special Olympics anyway?
Do you know the difference between the paralympics and special olympics? How are the Paralympic Games different from the Special Olympics?
The Paralympics and the Special Olympics are similar in that they both focus on sport for athletes with an impairment and are run by international non-profit organisations. Apart from that, the Paralympics and the Special Olympics differ in three main areas:
1) the impairment categories of the athletes that they work with
2) the criteria under which athletes participate
3) the structure of their respective organisations.
The Paralympics, as the largest sports competition for athletes with an impairment worldwide, involve athletes from several impairment categories. The six main disability categories are: amputee, cerebral palsy, intellectual impairment, visually impaired, spinal injuries and Les Autres (French for “the others”, a category that includes conditions that do not fall into the categories mentioned before). In contrast, the Special Olympics are solely for athletes with intellectual impairment.
To participate in the Paralympic Games, athletes have to fulfil certain criteria and meet certain qualifying standards in order to be eligible. These criteria and standards are sports-specific and are determined by the IPC Sports Chairpersons, the Sports Technical Delegates and the relevant international sports organizations.
The Paralympics are about elite performance sport, where athletes go through a stringent qualification process so that the best can compete at the Games.
On the other hand, the Special Olympics does not make as clear a distinction between elite and recreational sport as the Paralympics. No qualifying events are held and there is instead a system of random selection of participants for the Special Olympics. Thus, while the Paralympics emphasises high-level performance, the Special Olympics emphasises participation from those who can and will.
The Paralympics are run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). As the international representative organization of sport for athletes with a disability, the IPC comprises elected representatives from around the world. The General Assembly, its highest decision-making body, includes around 160 member nations, represented through their National Paralympic Committees, and five disability-specific organizations. The Special Olympics are run by Special Olympics International (SOI). SOI has established national foundations around the world, which are financed mainly through charity.
ellievsbear
gracieabrams
origamiaround
gummygunk
germansingergirl
theartofmadeline