[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 118 (Thursday, July 17, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1495-E1496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO SPECIAL OLYMPICS INTERNATIONAL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENNY C. HULSHOF

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 17, 2008

  Mr. HULSHOF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 40th 
anniversary of an organization that has profoundly enriched the lives 
of individuals with intellectual disabilities and society as a whole 
through sports competition. Special Olympics International has promoted 
the benefits of sports competition for individuals with intellectual 
disabilities since 1968, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the 
Special Olympics and convened its first International Games in Chicago.
  Two years later, in 1971, Special Olympics Missouri opened its doors 
and started programs for Missourians with intellectual disabilities. 
For more than 36 years, Special Olympics Missouri has been providing 
sports training and competitions for athletes ages 8 and up.
  The first Missouri Summer Games were held in 1975, that same year 
Missouri Special Olympics sent its first athletes to International 
Summer Games. Except for a brief hiatus in Columbia, Missouri--my 
hometown--the State Summer Games have been held at Fort Leonard Wood.

[[Page E1496]]

  Today, Missourians from the ages of 8 to 80 compete in Special 
Olympics, with an average age around 25. Special Olympics provide year-
round sports training and athletics competition for Missouri's children 
and adults with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Missouri 
currently serves more than 15,000 athletes with mental disabilities, in 
19 sports, at 152 competitions throughout Missouri, with 4 statewide 
competitions, and more than 1,370 of Missouri's finest citizens who 
serve as volunteer coaches. Special Olympics Missouri athletes have 
participated in competitions all over the World from Ames, Iowa in our 
own backyard to Anchorage, Alaska, Toronto, Canada, Dublin, Ireland, 
Nagano, Japan, and just last year--Shanghai, China.
  Through sports, these individuals develop improved physical fitness 
and motor skills, greater self-confidence, and a more positive self-
image.
  My colleagues know that as Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on 
Youth Sports, I wholeheartedly believe that sports involvement improves 
one's health, character, and leadership skills. The Caucus believes in 
promoting the values of sportsmanship, civility, respect, safety, fun 
and fitness among the players, coaches, parents, and officials. I am 
proud to tell you that Special Olympics promotes these same values in 
its programs and especially in its Healthy Athletes and Unified Sports 
programs.
  In recent years, Special Olympics Missouri has expanded its reach o 
address health and fitness issues unique to individuals with 
intellectual disabilities. The Healthy Athletes Program provides health 
screenings in conjunction with competitions.
  Special Olympics Unified Sports is a program that combines 
approximately equal numbers of Special Olympics athletes and athletes 
without mental disabilities (called Partners) on sports teams for 
training and competition. Throughout the year, in a variety of sports 
ranging from basketball to golf to figure skating, Unified Sports 
athletes improve their physical fitness, sharpen their skills, 
challenge the competition and have fun, too.
  The concept of combining athletes with mental disabilities and those 
without was first introduced in the mid-1980s to provide another level 
of challenge for higher ability athletes and to promote equality and 
inclusion. Today, the initiative includes virtually all Special 
Olympics sports.
  Unified Sports enables athletes to:
  Learn new sports, develop higher-level sports skills and have new 
competition experiences;
  Experience a sense of meaningful inclusion, as each athlete is 
ensured of playing a valued role on the team;
  Socialize with peers and form friendships (the initiative provides a 
forum for positive social interaction between teammates and often leads 
to long-lasting friendships) and;
  Participate in their communities and have choices outside of Special 
Olympics.
  In 1997, TIME magazine published a story about a Unified Sports 
partner from Missouri, Ryan Brimer of Boonville.
  The Missouri Police Chiefs Association has been a big supporter of 
Special Olympics Missouri through its Law Enforcement Torch Run. What 
began as a 30-mile run is now a four-day relay that covers more than 
950 miles and 1,000 runners. Now more than a run, the Torch Run is a 
campaign to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics. It 
originates at 25 different locations around the State of Missouri and 
ends at the State Summer Games. Nearly 200 agencies and 2,500 officers 
volunteer all year to make the Torch Run happen. In fact, Missouri's 
event consistently ranks as one of the top ten fundraising Torch Runs 
in the world. I am proud of Missouri's law enforcement officers who 
give of their time for this noble cause.
  Special Olympics themes of inclusion, health, sportsmanship, 
leadership, and fun in sports make the world and Missouri a better 
place for individuals with and without disabilities. I am proud to 
congratulate Special Olympics on its years of achievement and I thank 
Special Olympics on behalf of all Missourians.

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