Neighborhood News: Plunging into the Special Olympics
“Let me win but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt”
Special Olympics motto
As hundreds of people participate in the Polar Plunge this Sunday, benefitting the Special Olympics, Dean’s Team Chicago is remembering the Chicago roots of the organization that brought children with intellectual disabilities out of the shadows and into the spotlight –the Special Olympics.
History
In the 1960s, children and adults with intellectual disabilities lived in the shadows of society, according to the Special Olympics website. They were hidden away in homes or institutions.
They didn’t have the chance to go to school, to work or to play. No-one encouraged them to become a part of the community.
All that changed in July, 1968, when the first Special Olympics competition was held in Chicago’s Soldier Field for young people with intellectual disabilities. The goal was to put a bright—and very public—spotlight on ability, not disability.
According to a blog post by the Chicago History Museum, the Inaugural games were organized by former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne McGlone Burke, then a twenty-three-year-old physical education teacher with the Chicago Park District, and Eunice Kennedy Shriverand the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. Burke conceived of the idea to hold sports competitions for her students after attending a seminar lead by Dr. William Freeberg, a physical education professor at Southern Illinois University, whose research indicated that providing physical fitness opportunities for children with disabilities could lead to improvements and opportunities in other areas of their lives. Nearly 1,000 athletes came to Soldier Field from 26 states and Canada to participate in the 50-yard dash, 300-yard run, field hockey, swimming and jumping. Impressed with the results, after the initial games, Shriver and the Kennedy Foundation took over the operations for what was eventually known as Special Olympics, Inc.
Growth
At the July 1968 games, Kennedy Shriver announced the formation of Special Olympics and that more games would be held every two years as a “Biennial International Special Olympics.” In December 1968, Special Olympics is officially incorporated, with Beverly Campbell, Wallace Duncan and Dr. Frank J. Hayden of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation listed as co-incorporators, as well as Olympic decathlon champion Rafer Johnson.
The movement grew, city by city and state by state, as well as internationally. Participants enjoyed track and field, bowling, basketball, swimming and many other sports added as the years went on.
In 1971, The U.S. Olympic Committee gave the Special Olympics official approval to use the name “Olympics,” according to Wikipedia sources. France sent the first athletes from outside North America to the second games held in 1970. The third games in 1972 saw 10 nations send athletes. The first Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Inclusion
As Special Olympics Chicago says on its website, the rise of Special Olympics during the last 50 years represented more than a popular sporting event. It marked the beginning of a shift in humanity. Disabled children and adults, often abandoned, institutionalized and isolated, joined mainstream society. They were seen. They were celebrated. Countries that once confined the disabled to prisonlike conditions have now embraced and even hosted the games.
Today
Special Olympics is the world’s largest program for sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, inspiring greatness in more than 5 million athletes in 172 nations worldwide. Because of Special Olympics, the world has witnessed the courage, character, dedication, dignity and worth of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Chicago has grown to serve thousands of athletes, offering year-round sports training and competition in 22 sports, and Chicago Park District Special Olympics programming is in 24 park locations throughout the city of Chicago.
Polar Plunge
Sunday, March 3, 2024 at North Avenue Beach is the 24th Annual Chicago Polar Plunge. Temperatures will be downright balmy, though the water is still March-cold!
This iconic winter tradition is historically the largest and most well-known plunge event, gathering thousands of participants, plus friends, families, and celebrities to support thousands of Chicago’s athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Funds raised will help support Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children’s Charities programs that provide athletic and life-enriching activities for thousands of athletes of all ages in all 77 Chicago neighborhoods. For more information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
