Is Special Olympics right for my child?

Special Olympics Athlete

Special Olympics Newfoundland & Labrador strives to be welcoming to all children and families who are looking for activities that are the right fit. Our programs will allow your child to connect with their peers and strengthen both their sport skills and social skills.

Special Olympics programs are designed for children, youth and adults with an intellectual disability. For information about what this means and specific qualification criteria, please visit Who can be a Special Olympics Athlete.

We encourage athletes to participate in both our sports programming and in any generic sports programming they like. Our programs are unique because during competition, athletes are divisioned to compete against those who are of comparable ability. If your child can run 100m in 2 minutes or if your child can run 100m in 15 seconds - that’s the group of athletes they would compete against and that’s the group they would find meaningful competition with.

If you have any questions about whether your child is a great fit for Special Olympics – they very well might be! We encourage you to check out one of our clubs and visit one of their programs and ask some questions. You will experience how wonderful our volunteers are and see what Special Olympics is all about.