JOHANNESBURG – The countdown to the 2022 Special Olympics South Africa National Summer Games in Limpopo has begun.

A promise of over 700 Special Olympic athletes and coaches from throughout all 9 provinces will descend on Polokwane Municipality, to compete within the 2022 Special Olympics South Africa Summer Games, 17- 19 November.

“ In order to be able to compete on a National level athletes need to advance from district, to provincial games. It is important to note that Special Olympics is not an elite sporting movement” stated Special Olympics South Africa CEO, Ancilla Smith.

READ: NBA stars be part of Special Olympics South Africa in celebrating Mandela Day

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Special Olympics South Africa (@SO_SouthAfrica) November 14, 2022

Three days of fierce competitors will see the development of the Special Olympics South Africa National Team representing South Africa on the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany.

“As Special Olympics South Africa we have always received tremendous support from local government. On a National level we work closely with a number of Ministries on our various initiatives. However, we are hoping in the near future that our athletes will enjoy the same support and recognition afforded to their mainstream counterparts,” stated Smith.

During the three-day occasion, Special Olympics athletes will compete in 8 sporting codes athletics, aquatics, basketball, boccie, soccer, futsal, netball, desk tennis and ten-pin bowling.

READ MORE: Jump into icy water to help raise funds for Special Olympics national team

Today, on Monday 10 October, there are just 250 days left until we kick off the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023! @SOWG_Berlin2023 #Berlin2023 #UnbeatableTogether #SpecialOlympicsWorldGames pic.twitter.com/SZVyiutMqH

Special Olympics South Africa (@SO_SouthAfrica) October 10, 2022

“ Special Olympics offers 30-plus Olympic-style individual and team sports that provide meaningful training and competition opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities,” stated Smith to Eyewitness News.

“ The fundamental difference between Special Olympics competitions and those of other sports organizations is that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate, and every athlete is recognized for his/her performance. Competitions are structured so that athletes compete with other athletes of similar ability in equitable divisions”.

Smith says the upcoming national championships will likely be officiated by representatives from the South African Football Federation, Athletics South Africa, the Table Tennis Association of South Africa, Swimming South Africa, Ten Pin Bowling South Africa, the NBA and Netball South Africa.

“ Special Olympics calls this competition-level matching “divisioning.” It’s a elementary rule at Special Olympics that athletes in competitions are matched up with others of the identical gender, about the identical age and most significantly, of about the identical aggressive potential” continued Smith.

Our Chairman @TimShriverlays out Special Olympics mission of fostering a worldwide community-based motion for social and academic inclusion with @CSIS‘s @handrewschwartz. Listen to the complete interview right here https://t.co/B6cxKtew94 #ChooseToInclude pic.twitter.com/8AzHMDPodF

Special Olympics (@SpecialOlympics) November 14, 2022

JOHANNESBURG – People flocked to Altitude Beach in Fourways to plunge into ice-cold water to assist the Special Olympics national team this Saturday.

The annual Special Olympics South Africa Polar Plunge was again for the sixth yr with over 150 personalities plunging into icy water to help raise funds for the 2022 Special Olympics South Africa National Games happening in Limpopo in October.

“I’m here to support Special Olympics it’s my second year plunging and this year I plunged with former Mrs South Africa Thenjiwe Mdluli. To me inclusion is very important I’m a mother with a son on the Autism spectrum so we know what it feels like to live in a world where being Atypical is difficult so this is a very important cause for me and close to my heart,” stated the 2022 Mrs South Africa, Jo Judnick-Wilson to Eyewitness News.

Support @KimJaydeBlog as she takes the Plunge in assist of the Special Olympics National Summer Games.

If you prefer to to assist, please share, and in the event you can contribute please click on on the hyperlink under. https://t.co/YHjnFvK7Aj#PolarPlunge2022 pic.twitter.com/cwYVUfteUI

Special Olympics South Africa (@SO_SouthAfrica) August 26, 2022

Last yr Special Olympics South Africa (SOSA), a sport for growth NGO, acquired overwhelming assist elevating over R120k. An additional R 100k was pledged, however these funds are nonetheless excellent.

“Yes. At the Plunge in 2021 a pledge was made on behalf of a well-known company as well as in the individual’s capacity. To date this pledge has not been honoured. This is of course very disappointing for us as an organisation on a number of levels, firstly from a financial perspective it does hurt us as we rely on funds raised to provide opportunities for our athletes and that is a substantial amount to lose, secondly, and perhaps even more disappointing is that there are those who would use a platform such as the plunge for self-aggrandisement by pledging funds which they have no intention of providing. It is a further indication of how people with intellectual disabilities are discriminated against and taken advantage of,” stated Ancilla Smith, CEO of Special Olympics South Africa.

Funds raised final yr had been in assist of the Special Olympics South Africa’s National Teams participation within the 2022 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Russia however these video games had been understandably cancelled. These funds have been now been dedicated to additionally assist this yr’s National Summer Games.

This yr’s plunge members jumped into a pool suitably chilled to polar temperatures with over 5 tons of ice.

Many of the courageous plungers additionally contribute to the fundraising efforts with a nominal plunging price.

Among the plungers was medically retired former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper, Brighton Mhlongo.

“I’m here because as athletes we all know about the Paralympics and Olympics and when they mentioned the Special Olympics I was kind of puzzled my question was what’s special about them, why do they have to say Special Olympics and I did a whole lot of research. It was more of trying to find balance between them and the Paralympics but over and above I asked myself why are we putting all these titles because we are all athletes,” stated Mhlongo.

The 2022 Special Olympics South Africa National Games will see the number of the National Team that shall be collaborating within the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany.

“As Special Olympics South Africa we have always received tremendous support from local government. On a National level we work closely with a number of Ministries on our various initiatives. However, we are hoping in the near future that our athletes will enjoy the same support and recognition afforded to their mainstream counterparts,” stated Smith.

Founded in 1991 and accredited by Special Olympics Incorporated, Special Olympics South Africa (SOSA) is devoted to offering sports activities coaching for males, ladies and kids with mental disabilities.

Support @markfish74 as he takes the Plunge in assist of the Special Olympics National Summer Games.

If you prefer to to assist, please share, and in the event you can contribute, please click on on the hyperlink under.
https://t.co/JjBjkgBeql#PolarPlunge2022 pic.twitter.com/SsfMzcfr7d

Special Olympics South Africa (@SO_SouthAfrica) August 26, 2022

The Special Olympics athletes have at all times introduced house luggage of medals and dream of being celebrated and supported by South Africans.

“It is very disheartening for our athletes when, for example, our National Team returned from the Special Olympics Summer World Games in the UAE in 2019 with a tally of 67 medals of which 35 were gold they received no National recognition. We are working hard to create more awareness of our athlete’s achievements and this is why the support we receive from so many celebrities through the Polar Plunge is so important to us” stated Smith.

The 2022 Special Olympics South Africa National Games will see the number of the National Team that shall be collaborating within the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany.

“One of the aims of the Polar Plunge is to create more awareness and recognition for our Special Olympics athletes. People are welcome to do their own plunges at home or wherever they are in support of our athletes. They are welcome to send videos of their plunges through to us at info@specialolympics.org.za so that we can share them on our social media” stated Smith.

SOSA is a volunteer-driven organisation that welcomes anybody who would love to be part of the household to contact and turn out to be part of our international motion.

“We also encourage people to share their plunges on their own social media using the hashtag #plungesa to help us spread awareness. They can also follow us on our social media” concluded Smith.