By: Bennett Hara
The Paralympics and Special Olympics often get confused with one another. Here is a chart to highlight the main differences between these sports organizations.
Both of these organizations create platforms for people with disabilities to be able to compete in sports but they differ in their intentions. While the Paralympics values competition and elite skill levels, the Special Olympics values the power sports has to allow people to reach their full potential.
See below for an accessible HTML table of the information instead:
| Topic | Special Olympics | Paralympics |
|---|---|---|
| Ages | 6 years old or older | (usually) 18 years old or older |
| Selection Process | Random Selection | International qualifier competition or threshold times or other international selection procedures |
| Philosophy | “Power of sport to help all who participate fulfill their potential” “Does not exclude any athlete based on qualifying scores [or skills]” | Elite athletes whose stringent training is done with personalized coaches/ training staff for international competitions leading to World Championships and Paralympic Games |
| Eligible Disabilities | Intellectual Disabilities | Physical, Visual, and Intellectual Disabilities |
| Types of Competition | Local and international | International only (with some domestic qualifying opportunities) |
| Frequency of Competitions | Local competitions happen year-round World Games happen alternating odd years (since 1977) switching between summer and winter | Accompanies Olympics (winter and summer) Hosted at the same venues (about 2 weeks after Olympics ends) |
| Number of Sports | 32 total: 20 Summer, 9 Winter, 3 (not at World Games) | 28 total: 22 Summer & 6 Winter |
| Sports for People with Intellectual Disabilities | All 32 sports | Certain events in: Track & Field, Swimming & Table Tennis |
| Countries Represented | 170 | 182 |
| First International Competition | Summer 1968 (Chicago, IL, USA) | 1960 (Rome, Italy) |
| Headquarters | Washington D.C., USA | Bonn, Germany |
Sources:
- https://www.paralympic.org/
- http://media.specialolympics.org/soi/files/press-kit/SO-andPARALYMPICS_2014_FactSheet_Final.pdf
Originally Posted: 21 May 2020