Special Olympics World Games

The Special Olympics World Games are an international sporting competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities, organized by Special Olympics.

Like the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, the Special Olympics World Games include summer and winter versions, and are held every four years. The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1968. The first International Special Olympics Winter Games were held in February 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA.

In 1991, the name was officially changed from International Special Olympics Summer or Winter Games to Special Olympics World Summer or World Winter Games.

Summer Games

	Summer Paralympic Games
Year	Games	Date	Host City	Country
1968 International Special Olympics Summer Games	I	July 20 1968	Chicago, Illinois	USA
1970 International Special Olympics Summer Games	II	August 13-15 1970	Chicago, Illinois	USA
1972 International Special Olympics Summer Games	III	August 13-18 1972	Los Angeles, CA	USA
1975 International Special Olympics Summer Games	IV	August 8-13 1975	Mt. Pleasant, Michigan	USA
1979 International Special Olympics Summer Games	V	August 8-13 1979	Brockport, New York	USA
1983 International Special Olympics Summer Games	VI	July 12-18 1983	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	USA
1987 International Special Olympics Summer Games	VII	July 31-August 1 1987	South Bend, Indiana	USA
1991 Special Olympics World Summer Games	VIII	July 19-27 1991	Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota	USA
1995 Special Olympics World Summer Games	IX	July 1-9 1995	New Haven, Connecticut	USA
1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games	X	June 26-July 4 1999	Durham, North Carolina	USA
2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games	XI	June 21-29 2003	Dublin	Ireland
2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games	XII	October 2-11 2007	Shanghai	China
2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games	XIII	TBA, 2011	Athens	Greece

Winter Games

	Winter Paralympic Games
Year	Games	Date	Host City	Country
1977 International Special Olympics Winter Games	I	February 5-11 1977	Steamboat Springs, Colorado	USA
1981 International Special Olympics Winter Games	II	March 8-13 1981	Smugglers' Notch and Stowe, Vermont	USA
1985 International Special Olympics Winter Games	III	March 24-29 1985	Park City, Utah	USA
1989 International Special Olympics Winter Games	IV	April 1-8 1989	Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe, California	USA
1993 Special Olympics World Winter Games	V	March 20-27 1993	Salzburg and Schladming	Austria
1997 Special Olympics World Winter Games	VI	February 1-8 1997	Toronto and Collingwood, Ontario	Canada
2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games	VII	March 4-11 2001	Anchorage, Alaska	USA
2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games	VIII	February 26 - March 4 2005	Nagano	Japan
2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games*	IX	February 6-13 2009	Boise, Idaho	USA

(*) - Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, was originally the host city of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. However, due to "unknown circumstances", the city gave hosting rights back to Special Olympics. The Dalai Lama was uninvited to the 2009 Special Olympics World Games under pressure from China(http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-jan2209-dalai_lama_uninvited.1d239786.html).

Summer sports

• Aquatics
• Athletics (track and field)
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Bocce
• Bowling
• Cycling
• Equestrian
• Floor Hockey
• Football (Soccer)
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Judo
• Powerlifting
• Roller Skating
• Sailing
• Softball
• Table Tennis
• Team Handball
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Paredao

Winter Sports

• Alpine Skiing
• Cross-country skiing
• Figure Skating
• Snowboarding
• Snowshoeing
• Speed Skating
• Floor Hockey