Special Olympics is an international organization that, for more than forty years, has been enriching the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Through the common language of sport and competition, Special Olympics has promoted acceptance and has taught the world about dignity and respect.

Born of a passionate desire to expand the health and wellbeing of the intellectually disabled, and in particular, her own sister, Special Olympics was founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Since that time, the organization has grown to include nearly 3.1 million athletes in 228 programs across 175 countries, providing year-round sports training, athletic competition, and other related programs, including Special Olympics Healthy Athletes™.

Through sport, Special Olympics affords individuals with intellectual disabilities, the opportunity to compete, to develop physical fitness, to challenge themselves and to realize their potential, all while experiencing typical sport camaraderie and friendship.

Special Olympics in Canada

In June 1969, the first Special Olympics national competition was held in Canada, less than one year after the sport movement was born on Chicago’s Soldier Field. The competition in Toronto attracted 1,400 individuals with an intellectual disability from towns and cities across this country.

Competing in athletics, floor hockey and swimming, athletes and fans joined Harry "Red" Foster, the visionary who worked tirelessly to bring the sport movement to this country. As with Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Red Foster had a sibling with an intellectual disability and knew all too well that these individuals could achieve far more than society realized. At the suggestion of Canadian Sport Researcher, Dr. Frank Hayden, Red Foster had taken a floor hockey team to the Chicago games the previous year. The Canadian broadcast legend, advertising executive and philanthropist was inspired by what he saw in Chicago and was determined to provide the same opportunity to Canadians.

Today, the movement has expanded across Canada, so that it is no longer just a cycle of national competitions. Special Olympics enriches the lives of more than 32,000 individuals and their family, friends and supporters. The athletes are registered in winter and summer sport programs, run by local Special Olympics organizations.

Sport Canada, a government agency under the Department of Canadian Heritage, recognizes Special Olympics as the main provider of these services to people whose primary diagnosis is an intellectual disability. Special Olympics is guided by the framework of the Long Term Athlete Development Model, developed in association with Sport Canada.

The Canadian Connection

In the early 1960s, a group of students at Beverley School, an inner-city school in Toronto, Ontario, became the test group for Dr. Frank Hayden, a sport scientist at the University of Toronto. Dr. Hayden was studying the effects of regular exercise on the fitness levels of children with an intellectual disability.

Dr. Hayden’s research was nothing short of groundbreaking. It debunked the prevailing mindset of the day – one that claimed that it was the disability itself that prevented them from fully participating in play and recreation. Through rigorous scientific method, Dr. Hayden proved that it was simply the lack of opportunity to participate that caused their fitness levels to suffer. Given the opportunity, people with an intellectual disability could become physically fit and acquire the necessary skills to participate in sport.

Dr. Hayden also demonstrated the transformative effects of sport on individuals with an intellectual disability. More significant was that this research would catch the attention of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and become the foundation upon which Special Olympics was born in 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, on Soldier Field. Toronto’s Beverley School was also involved on that day: a group of 12 of its students represented Canada at this inaugural competition.

Londoner Bill Mills has been involved with Special Olympics for almost 40 years

Bill Mills was involved in Special Olympics long before it was even incorporated. He volunteered at the 1971 games in Toronto and in 1977 he, along with a dedicated group of like-minded volunteers, worked on the rules for floor hockey and developed the Ontario Floor Hockey league. Over the years, Bill has been active in coaching at floor hockey, swimming, track and winter sports. He held a range of elected positions at the local and regional level as well as being twice elected to the Provincial Program Team for Ontario. He served as Referee in Chief both for Ontario and for Special Olympics Canada and has attended provincial and invitational competitions as well as being at six national Games and 14 world Games. In February 2009, he served as a floor hockey referee at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho. He has travelled the world as a floor hockey coach and referee instructor conducting clinics as far away as Singapore, Trinidad, Austria and most recently, Hong Kong.

Bill has been awarded the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award, the First Presidents Award as well as a Queen Jubilee Medal presented by Special Olympics Ontario (SOO), formerly known as Ontario Special Olympics.