In New Jersey, athletes participate in:

Special Olympics New Jersey is headed by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors employs a small, full-time staff to conduct the program on a day-to-day basis. It is the responsibility of the staff to implement the program in accordance with Board policies and the guidelines set forth by Special Olympics Inc.

New Jersey Chapter and Sectional level events are conducted by volunteers who serve on event organizing committees and Sport Management Teams.

The State of New Jersey has been divided into Areas for conducting training programs and qualifying competitions. An Area is managed by a volunteer Area Director and Area Committee.

Local Training Programs are made up of schools, developmental centers and other agencies serving individuals with intellectual disabilities. The Local level is the most important level as this is where the athletes receive their training and initial participation in Special Olympics.

Competition Offerings

Special Olympics Inc. has approved twenty-four Olympic sports for participation by individuals with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics New Jersey offers twenty-three (including Motor Activities) of the twenty-four as Chapter-level competitions.

Special Olympics New Jersey conducts four major events annually:

Sectional and Area competitions are conducted for qualification for advancement.

National Governing Bodies

Levels of Competition

Athletes advance to higher levels of competition as described below through criteria established by the previous level of competition in accordance with Special Olympics policies and procedures.

World Games (formerly called International Games) are offered every two years on an alternating Winter Games and Summer Games basis. The next World Summer Games will be in 1999, 2003, etc., and World Winter Games in 1997, 2001, etc. The United States Chapter (states) are represented as TEAM USA.

Chapter events showcase the skills and accomplishments of the Special Olympics athletes, and, therefore, athletes must be well-trained. Chapter Competition is conducted according to the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules Books (revised 1994-1998, 1996-2000) and the National Governing Body Sports Rules. New Jersey offers competition in 22 sports.

Sectional events will be conducted as qualifiers in order to meet the criteria for athletes to advance to Chapter level competition. Competition is conducted in compliance with Official Special Olympics Rules (revised 1994-1998, 1996-2000).

Area events are where the majority of athletes will compete throughout the year. Area events are to be conducted according to Official Special Olympics Rules and Board policies. Competition must be conducted according to the Special Olympics Sports Rules (revised 1996-2000) and the National Governing Bodies.

Invitational events may be conducted to include two or more Local Training Programs or Areas. These events do not qualify athletes for advancement in their sport, but simply serve as another competition opportunity.

Sports Rules

All Special Olympics competitions follow the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules, which have been adapted from official rules of the U.S. National Governing Body (New Jersey competition) or International Federation (World Games competition) of each sport offered by Special Olympics then approved by the Special Olympics Inc. Sports Rules committee. The rules are set forth in the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules Book (Winter and Summer). A listing of the U.S. National Governing Bodies by sports can be found on page 13.

Divisioning

All Special Olympics competition is conducted to provide each athlete with an equal opportunity to finish first in a given event. This is ensured by ability divisioning, a feature which makes Special Olympics unique among sporting organizations. Through this divisioning process, athletes are placed in divisions of 3-8 athletes/teams based on previous performance, gender and age. Special Olympics Inc. has suggested that all divisions be created where the variance between the highest and lowest scores within that division not differ by more than 10%. This 10% statement is not a rule, but should be used as a guideline for establishing equitable divisions when the number of athletes competing is appropriate. League play and classification rounds are used to establish equal competition in Team Sports. (Refer to Section 5 on page 20 of the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules--revised 1992-1995.)

Prohibited Sports

Prohibited sports and events are activities which the Special Olympics Sports Medicine Committee has determined do not meet the minimum health and safety standards of Special Olympics Inc. Prohibited sports shall not be a part of any Special Olympics competition, training program, clinic, etc. The following sports and events shall be prohibited from Special Olympics: Boxing, Wrestling, Trampoline, Shooting, Judo, Karate (martial arts), Fencing, American Football, and Rugby.

Competition Calendar