#TORniamoINcampO: this is the claim chosen to best represent the multiple meanings of the XXXVII Special Olympics National Summer Games scheduled from 4 to 9 June 2022. Representative because marks the official return to sporting activity in presence for the entire Special Olympics movement, representative because it underlines the role of Turin as the national and international capital of sport. The Turin Games, the largest sporting event dedicated to people with intellectual disabilities ever held in Italy, will bring over 3,000 athletes from every corner of the “boot” to the territory of the Metropolitan City (together with technicians, carers, families and volunteers), with a fallout destined to have a decisive impact not only on the sports and social fabric but also on the economic and commercial one.
The sports disciplines included in the program are 20, many of which are characterized by Unified Sport involving in the same team athletes with and without intellectual disabilities.
GREAT EMOTIONS FOR THE OPENING CEREMONY
With the opening ceremony staged on the evening of Sunday 5 June at the Olympic Stadium “Grande Torino“, the XXXVII Special Olympics Summer National Games in Turin 2022 officially opened, the largest event sport dedicated to people with intellectual disabilities never realized in Italy with 3000 athletes, 20 sports disciplines, 1300 volunteers, 420 accompanying delegates, 520 technicians and 1400 family members.
From Monday 6, the competitions will continue (with hours 9-18.30) which began on Sunday morning with the “divisioning”, grouping of the athletes into homogeneous heats / groups based on the level of skill to guarantee everyone the opportunity to express themselves to their full potential. #TORniamoINcampO, in addition to being the claim chosen for the Games, from this point of view will also be the watchword for the champions who will compete after two years of pandemic in the 20 disciplines on the program; team sports will take place in unified mode, with the simultaneous presence of players with and without disabilities. In this regard, Turin will be a great protagonist not only as a host city through the provision of the over 20 sports facilities involved, but also and above all as a welcoming and inclusive place.
COMPETITIONS BEGIN ON ALMOST ALL COURTS
Not even the time to archive the tremendous emotions experienced during the Opening Ceremony, staged last night at the “Grande Torino” Olympic Stadium, which for the XXXVII Special Olympics National Summer Games is already time to get to the heart of the competitions.
The 3,000 athletes with and without intellectual disabilities participating “returned to the field” today in almost all disciplines, filling most of the sports facilities involved with energy, vitality and talent. During the day there were then athletics, badminton (whose program ended in the afternoon), basketball, bowling, bowling, 5-a-side football, rowing, horse riding, rhythmic gymnastics, golf, karate, swimming, volleyball, rugby tests. , tennis and table tennis. At the PalaVela, headquarters of the Special Olympics Village, the Health Programs initiatives were held simultaneously with the Family Health Forum, with free screening for all athletes thanks to the collaboration of 150 volunteer medical specialists: among these Opening Eyes (optometric screening ), Special Smiles (dental screening), Fit Feet (podiatry screening) and Health Promotion (nutrition and prevention).
FOURTH DAY OF XXXVII NATIONAL SUMMER GAMES SPECIAL OLYMPICS TURIN 2022
A few minutes ago the fourth day of the XXXVII Special Olympics National Summer Games in Turin 2022 ended: a real sports party was staged on all the competition fields and at the PalaVela Olympic Village, with 3 thousand athletes with and without intellectual disabilities and the whole community involved in the event to underline once again the values of inclusion, sharing and fraternity founding in the movement created in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the United States.
The protagonists of the games are “back on the field” in the disciplines of athletics, basketball, bowling, bowls, 5-a-side football, rowing, horse riding, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, golf, karate, swimming, volleyball, rugby, tennis and table tennis; the competitions in rhythmic gymnastics, golf, karate and rugby ended today. The Health Programs initiatives also continued at the Special Olympics Village, with free screening for all athletes thanks to the collaboration of 150 volunteer medical specialists: among these Opening Eyes (optometric screening), Special Smiles (dental screening), Fit Feet (podiatry screening) ) and Health Promotion (nutrition and prevention). From 10 to 12 the demonstration of the YAP – Young Athletes Program took place, with motor play activities for children with and without intellectual disabilities in view of a future entry into the Special Olympics panorama from the age of 8. The Program provides an introduction to basic motor skills such as running, kicking and throwing through playful activities with the aim of promoting social inclusion by extending the benefits to families and the community as well. Furthermore, after the message of peace launched on the occasion of the Opening Ceremony, a group of Ukrainian families were guests of the Village.