Special Olympics Canada

Special Olympics Canada is a national organization founded in 1969 to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence and social skills through sports training and competition.

The group is a national non-profit grassroots organization with more than 13,000 trained volunteer coaches. It provides its services through local sport clubs to more than 38,000 athletes. Its programs are supported by corporate sponsorship, fundraising activities, government funding as well as individual donors. This includes more than 12,000 members of the policing community who have supported Special Olympics, largely through the Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Special Olympics Canada is part of a global movement — Special Olympics — that is structured into regional, provincial and national programs and competitions. National competitions are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter games with Special Olympics World Games held in the year following national games. Canadian athletes have the opportunity to participate along with more than 150 other countries in Special Olympics World Summer or Winter Games through selection in the national team program.

“Let me win, but if I do not win, let me be brave in the attempt.” Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver introduced this oath in 1968.

In 1969, the first Special Olympics Canada event was held in Toronto. From that modest beginning, the Special Olympics movement quickly spread across the country and grew into the national sports organization it is today.

Matthew Williams has been involved in Special Olympics Canada for many years. He serves as Canada’s International Ambassador. Williams travels around and shares his story with audiences amongst other International Ambassadors in order to educate the public about Special Olympics, but also to demonstrate the impact that the organization has on its athletes’ lives.

In July 2014, Williams represented Special Olympics Canada at an event held at the White House by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to celebrate the work that Special Olympics as a global organization has done over the course of its existence.

Renowned for his research on intellectual disabilities, Dr. Hayden is hugely involved in Special Olympics Canada. He studied the motivation behind individuals with intellectual disabilities to succeed in sports. Contrary to common belief that these individuals could not participate in sport because of their disabilities, Dr. Hayden proved that it was actually the lack of opportunity that caused their fitness levels to differ from other individuals without intellectual disabilities. With this knowledge, Dr. Hayden proposed the idea of a national sport competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities to participate in. At this time, Eunice Kennedy Shriver was working on creating an organization with the same purpose as Dr. Hayden’s proposal, due to her experience with her sister’s intellectual disability. Shriver reached out to Dr. Hayden and the two (amongst others) collaborated to host an event in Chicago, Illinois, which would be known as the first international Special Olympics Summer Games in 1968. In these games, Canada and the US were the only participating countries. Currently, 170 countries compete in the Special Olympic games across the globe. Dr. Hayden is still involved with Special Olympics Canada currently, and was recently inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall Of Fame (Class of 2016) for his contribution to the sport community.

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