As of Thursday, 17 November over 700 Special Olympics athletes and coaches from across all 9 provinces will descend on Polokwane Municipality, Limpopo.
They will compete in the 2022 Special Olympics South Africa Summer Games until Saturday, 19 November.
The games will be preceded by a Law Enforcement Torch Run which will see the Special Olympics “Flame of Hope” travel to four districts in Limpopo. Before it finally enters the Peter Mokaba Stadium as part of the official Opening Ceremony.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS ASCEND LIMPOPO
During the 3 day event, Special Olympics athletes will compete in 8 sporting codes athletics, aquatics, basketball, bocce, football, futsal, netball, table tennis and ten pin bowling.
Sports competitions will be officiated by representatives from the South African Football Federation, and Athletics South Africa. The Table Tennis Association of South Africa, Swimming South Africa, Ten Pin Bowling South Africa, the NBA and also Netball South Africa.
Athletes also participate in golf and equestrian events which were hosted previously in Gauteng.
The National Games are also being proudly hosted by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and the Polokwane.
The Games are being supported by the National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. The National Youth Development Agency and the African Bank.
Alongside the National Games, a Special Olympics medical screening in 7 disciplines will be conducted for our athletes by health professionals from across Limpopo. The screening is being supported by the Department of Health in Limpopo, the Galisano Foundation and Lions Club International.
ULTIMATE PRICE
Three days of fierce competition will see the advancement of the Special Olympics South Africa National Team. A team that will also represent South Africa at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany.
The National Team will be participating against over 7000 athletes from 180 countries in Berlin. They will be hoping to beat the medal count from the previous Special Olympics Summer Games in the UAE. Team SA returned with 35 Gold, 15 Silver and 12 Bronze medals.
