Special Olympics & Special Olympics Floorball

Special Olympics (SO) is the largest sports organisation for persons with Intellectual Disability with more than 3,7 million officially registered athletes and 0,5 million coaches in 183 countries in all Regions of the World.

Special Olymics includes 33 different sports, 26 summer sports, 7 winter sports Floorball being the youngest sport in this long list.

The IFF and the Special Olympics signed the Proclamation for partnership during the IFF General Assembly 2011 and the IFF and Special Olympics have looked into different ways of strengthening the cooperation.

Special Olympics Floorball is played with 3 players and goalies. The playing area is 20 x 12 m.

Floorball a demonstration sport in SO World Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea 2013.

The Special Olympics World Winter Games is a multi-sport event for athletes with intellectual disability and 10th edition took place January 29th to February 5th 2013. In addition to floorball athletes competed in eight sports including Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Floor Hockey, Snowboarding, Snow Shoeing and Speed Skating.

The Special Olympics Sports Committee (CTAC) selected 8 Programs (nations) for the Floorball demo in 2013 World Games (WG) in Korea: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Korea, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland.

Final Standings in the Special Olympics WG 2013:

A-division 1. Finland 2. Russia 3. Denmark 4. Sweden

B-divsion 1. Switzerland 2. Austria 3. Ireland 4. Korea

About Special Olympics

Special Olympics is the world’s largest year-round program of sports training and competitions for individuals with intellectual disabilities. More than 3,7 million athletes worldwide (half a million in 58 countries across Europe and Eurasia) in more than 170 countries train and compete in 33 Olympic-style summer and winter sports at local, national and international events.

Through its sports programs, Special Olympics strives to provide long-term benefits to individuals’ health, self-esteem and social integration. Special Olympics and Paralympics are two separate organisations recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Special Olympics provides sports opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities of all ability levels. Paralympics provides opportunities for elite-level athletes with disabilities.

Special Olympics Floorball Ambassadors

Special Olympics Floorball Resource Team

The Special Olympics Floorball Resource team was established in June 2012 and consists of a chair and four members:
Steen Houman (DEN), chair, steenhou(at)roskide.dk
Mairusz Damentko (POL & SOEE), mdamsoce(at)it.com.pl
Aldo Doninelli (SUI & SOEE), doninelli(at)specialolympics.ch
Jonas Hviid (DEN), jshvi(at)frederikssund.dk
Merita Bruun (FIN & IFF), bruun (at)floorball.org