About Our Athletes

General Statement of Eligibility
Special Olympics training and competition is open to every person with intellectual disabilities who is at least 6 years old, has completed a Medical and Consent form and is registered to participate. There is no cost to participate in Special Olympics.

Age Requirements
Athletes must be 6 years old to train and 8 years old to train and compete. There is no maximum age for participation in Special Olympics.

Children ages 2 ½ to 7 may participate in the Young Athletes Program.

Identifying Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
A person is considered to have intellectual disabilities for purposes of determining his or her eligibility to participate in Special Olympics if any of the following requirements are met:

The person has been identified by an agency or professional as having an intellectual disability.
The person has a cognitive delay as determined by standardized measures, such as “IQ” or other generally accepted measures.

The person has a closely related developmental disability, which means having functional limitations in both general learning and 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, behavioral, or emotional disability, or a specific learning or sensory disability, are not eligible to participate as Special Olympics athletes, but may be eligible to volunteer for Special Olympics as partners in Unified Sports, if they otherwise meet the separate eligibility requirements for participation in Unified Sports set forth in the Special Olympics Sports Rules.

Degree of Disability
Participation in Special Olympics training and competition is open to all children and adults with intellectual disabilities who meet the age requirements, regardless of how mild or severe the person’s disability, and whether or not the person also has other mental and physical disabilities.