For all of our recognized and official sports, find coaching guides, development models, photos and videos and other related materials. You can also find information on “Other Sports” (locally popular sports which are not official Summer or Winter sports) at the end of this page.
Alpine Skiing
Alpine skiing is one of the top Special Olympics sports. Stay up to date with alpine skiing resources here.
Athletics
Athletics, also known as track and field, is possibly the most popular summer sport. Find resources for the many categories of events here.
Badminton
Badminton is one of several net-and-racquet sports in Special Olympics.
Basketball
A very popular Special Olympics sport, basketball is growing in popularity around the world.
- Basketball Coaching Guide (Update 2007): This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Unified Basketball Coaching Manual: This online coaching guide covers how to create a team, coaching skills and procedures, and planning a season.
- Unified Sports Basketball Video: Shows coaches, athletes, partners and officials how the core principles of Unified Sports work in basketball.
- Basketball Player Grading: This video covers how to assess the ability of basketball players. This "grading" video is a useful tool to assess and keep track of each player's improvement over time.
- FRANÇAIS: Basket-ball: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- PORTUGUÊS: Basqetebol: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- RUSSIAN: Баскетбол: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Basketball Rules (2016): This PDF contains the complete updated Special Olympics rules for this sport.
- Rules Changes Basketball: See the most recent rules changes for this sport.
- Basketball Fact Sheet: Learn about the sport, statistics about it, available events, and how it's done in Special Olympics.
- Quick Reference Coaching Guide (English and translations): This is our basic guide to coaching athletes with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on some behaviors often associated with ID. The tips have been developed by coaches. They will help you to improve athlete learning and give them a more enjoyable Special Olympics sport experience.
Bocce
Bocce is a popular sport because it is simple to learn but always rewards experience. Get resources here.
- Bocce Coaching Guide (Update 2005): This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- FRANÇAIS: Bocce: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- PORTUGUÊS: Bocha: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- ESPAÑOL: Bochas: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Bocce Rules (2016): This PDF contains the complete updated Special Olympics rules for this sport.
- Rules Changes Bocce: See the most recent rules changes for this sport.
- Bocce Fact Sheet: Learn about the sport, statistics about it, available events, and how it's done in Special Olympics.
- Quick Reference Coaching Guide (English and translations): This is our basic guide to coaching athletes with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on some behaviors often associated with ID. The tips have been developed by coaches. They will help you to improve athlete learning and give them a more enjoyable Special Olympics sport experience.
Bowling
Ten-pin bowling is one of several bowling events. Get resources for this popular sport here.
Cricket
Cricket is a locally popular recognized sport in Special Olympics. Get resources for this sport here.
Cross Country Skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles. Get resources here.
Cycling
Cycling is a fascinating sport that requires good physical condition, balance, endurance and tactics.
Equestrian
Balance, stability and communication between the horse and rider are key to success in this sport. Get resources here.
Figure Skating
A sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates.
Flag Football (Locally Popular)
Flag football is based on the rules of American football. It is played in a way that avoids the full-body contact of tackling and blocking.
Floorball
Floorball is a versatile indoor team sport developed in the 1970s in Sweden. Find resources here.
Floor Hockey
This is an indoor hockey game played on flat floor surfaces, such as a basketball court. Find resources here.
Football (Soccer)
A rapidly growing and already wildly popular sport for Special Olympics. Get the resources here.
- Football Coaching Guide (Update 2004): This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- FRANÇAIS: Football: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- PORTUGUÊS: Futebol: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- ESPAÑOL: Fútbol: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Football Rules (2016): This PDF contains the complete updated Special Olympics rules for this sport.
- Rules Changes Football: See the most recent rules changes for this sport.
- Football Fact Sheet: Learn about the sport, statistics about it, available events, and how it's done in Special Olympics.
- Quick Reference Coaching Guide (English and translations): This is our basic guide to coaching athletes with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on some behaviors often associated with ID. The tips have been developed by coaches. They will help you to improve athlete learning and give them a more enjoyable Special Olympics sport experience.
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport. Get resources here.
- Golf Coaching Guide (Update 2003): This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- FRANÇAIS: Golf: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- PORTUGUÊS: Golfe: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- ESPAÑOL: Golf: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Golf Rules (2016): This PDF contains the complete updated Special Olympics rules for this sport.
- Rules Changes Golf: See the most recent rules changes for this sport.
- Golf Fact Sheet: Learn about the sport, statistics about it, available events, and how it's done in Special Olympics.
- Quick Reference Coaching Guide (English and translations): This is our basic guide to coaching athletes with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on some behaviors often associated with ID. The tips have been developed by coaches. They will help you to improve athlete learning and give them a more enjoyable Special Olympics sport experience.
Artistic Gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics where gymnasts perform short routines on different apparatus, with less time for vaulting. Get resources here.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport that combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance, and apparatus manipulation. Get the resources you need here.
Handball
Also called team handball, this is a physical and fast sport of intense physical contact.
Judo
Judo is a sport demanding physical capabilities along with spiritual discipline. Take care of the resources you need here.
Kayaking
In kayaking every athlete aims to travel through a specific water distance paddling either on his/ her own or in pairs of two (2), achieving the best possible time. Get resources here.
Motor Activity Training Program
This program is designed to prepare athletes with severe or profound intellectual and physical disabilities for sport-specific activities appropriate for their abilities. Get resources here.
- MATP Coaching Guide (Update 2005): This online coaching guide covers what a coach needs to know about the motor activities training program, which is designed for Special Olympics athletes who have difficulty with basic movements.
- العربية: MATP: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- 中国: MATP: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- FRANÇAIS: MATP: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- PORTUGUÊS: MATP: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- RUSSIAN: MATP: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- ESPAÑOL: MATP: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- MATP Fact Sheet: Learn about the sport, statistics about it, available events, and how it's done in Special Olympics.
- Quick Reference Coaching Guide (English and translations): This is our basic guide to coaching athletes with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on some behaviors often associated with ID. The tips have been developed by coaches. They will help you to improve athlete learning and give them a more enjoyable Special Olympics sport experience.
Netball (Locally Popular)
Netball is played on a rectangular court with raised goal rings at each end. Each team attempts to score goals by passing a ball down the court and shooting it through its goal ring. Get resources here.
Open Water Swimming
Open water swimming involves swimming in deep water with waves, currents, wind and other natural elements test the swimmer. Get resources here.
Powerlifting
In Powerlifting every athlete aims in lifting more weights than the opponent using specific moves. Get resources here.
Roller Skating
Roller Skating is a lifetime fitness sport, well-suited for both children and adults. Get resources here.
Sailing
In Sailing every team of one, two or three members aims in achieving to travel with a boat through a specific area in best minimum time. Get resources here.
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard. Get resources here.
Snowshoeing
Snowshoeing combines aerobic activity with ease of walking over snow. Get resources here.
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. Get resources here.
Short Track Speed Skating
Short Track Speed Skating provides both cardiovascular and aerobic benefits as well as improving muscle strength, balance, and coordination. Get resources here.
Swimming
Swimming in pools and open water swimming are popular Special Olympics activities.
- Aquatics and Swimming Coaching Guide (Update 2004): This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- FRANÇAIS: Aquatiques: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Aquatics Coaching Guide Portuguese: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- ESPAÑOL: Acuaticos: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Aquatics and Swimming Rules (2016): This PDF contains the complete updated Special Olympics rules for this sport.
- Aquatics and Swimming Fact Sheet: Learn about the sport, statistics about it, available events, and how it's done in Special Olympics.
- Rules Changes Swimming: See the most recent rules changes for this sport.
- Quick Reference Coaching Guide (English and translations): This is our basic guide to coaching athletes with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on some behaviors often associated with ID. The tips have been developed by coaches. They will help you to improve athlete learning and give them a more enjoyable Special Olympics sport experience.
Table Tennis
Table Tennis is a fast sport that requires excellent coordination of hands and eyes. Get resources here.
Triathlon (Locally Popular)
A triathlon is a multiple-stage competition that involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances. Get resources here.
Tennis
Tennis is a popular sport played at all levels of skill and by players of all ages. Get resources here.
- Tennis Coaching Guide (Update 2013): This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- PORTUGUÊS: Tênis: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- ESPAÑOL: Tenis: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Tennis Rules (2016): This PDF contains the complete updated Special Olympics rules for this sport.
- Rules Changes Tennis: See the most recent rules changes for this sport.
- Tennis Fact Sheet: Learn about the sport, statistics about it, available events, and how it's done in Special Olympics.
- Quick Reference Coaching Guide (English and translations): This is our basic guide to coaching athletes with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on some behaviors often associated with ID. The tips have been developed by coaches. They will help you to improve athlete learning and give them a more enjoyable Special Olympics sport experience.
Volleyball
The game of volleyball is attractive to all types of players, from competitive to recreational, young and old. Get resources here.
- Volleyball Coaching Guide (Update 2008): This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- FRANÇAIS: Volley-ball: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- PORTUGUÊS: Voleibol: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- ESPAÑOL: Voleibol: This online coaching guide covers planning a season, teaching skills, teaching rules, and includes a quick start guide.
- Volleyball Rules (2016): This PDF contains the complete updated Special Olympics rules for this sport.
- Rules Changes Volleyball: See the most recent rules changes for this sport.
- Volleyball Fact Sheet: Learn about the sport, statistics about it, available events, and how it's done in Special Olympics.
- Beach Volleyball Rules (2016): This PDF contains the complete updated Special Olympics rules for this sport.
- Quick Reference Coaching Guide (English and translations): This is our basic guide to coaching athletes with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on some behaviors often associated with ID. The tips have been developed by coaches. They will help you to improve athlete learning and give them a more enjoyable Special Olympics sport experience.