Pangasinan to host Special Olympics on March 2-5
PANGASINAN will host the 12th Special Olympics Philippines (SOP) on March 2-5 at the Narciso Ramos Sports Complex in Lingayen to be participated in by 700 intellectually-challenged athletes from across the country.
The SOP, held every three years, features athletics, aquatics, basketball, badminton, bocce, bowling, football, gymnastics, power lifting, table tennis and volleyball.
The SOP national games serve as a qualifier for the World Special Olympics to be held in Athens, Greece in 2011.
The last Philippine delegation brought home 53 medals, nine of which were gold, from the 2007 Special Olympics Games held in Shanghai, China.
SOP, affiliated with Special Olympics International, Inc., is the largest program for sports training and competition in the world for young people and adults with intellectual disability.
At present, the organization has already 2.5 million intellectually-challenged athletes in 180 countries, including the Philippines.
SOP offers a program of recreation, physical education and competition for intellectually-handicapped persons starting at age four and older with an IQ of 75 percent and below, to help them develop self-confidence and a sense of personal accomplishment despite their disability.—LM
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