The city of Jerusalem will hold for the first the Special Olympics, tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17th 2005. The opening ceremony will take place at 10:00 at the Malcha basketball arena, in the presence of Mayor Uri Lupolianski, deputy mayor Yigal Amedi, The Greek ambassador to Israel, Mr. Michel Spinellis, Chairman of the Israeli Special Olympics, Dr. Ud Bar-Peled and additional dignitaries. The ceremony will feature a gymnastics exhibition performed by the athletes as well as a floor hockey match. Following the huge success of the Senior Olympics that took place in Jerusalem this summer, mayor Lupolianski has decided to hold the winter games of the special Olympics for intellectual challenged athletes in Jerusalem. The municipality will hold the games in association with the Israeli Special Olympics organization in various locations around Jerusalem. 1,000 athletes from all over Israel, with various intellectual disabilities, are expected to participate in the games. A delegation from Greece, birthplace of the Olympics, will also arrive. The games will be held in various fields: swimming, soccer, basketball, Judo, track and field, equestrian, bowling, gymnastics and more. The Special Olympics organization was founded out of a true belief that the intellectual challenged people can improve themselves by participating in individual and group sports, with the proper support and assistance. It should be noted that the Israeli athletes enjoy success in numerous competitions worldwide. The tennis team recently returned from the European championship after winning 11 medals, five of them are gold and the basketball team has won second place in the European championship in Belgrade. Currently the athletes are practicing for the World Special Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Shanghai, China on October 2007. Mr. Alex Giladi has volunteered to hold the position of honorary president of the Israeli Special Olympics towards the summer games in China. According to mayor Lupolianski, the aim of these games is to raise awareness to the special population: „We, as a society, are judged by the way we treat those who are different. It’s important that each and every one of us realize that even if someone has a disability it shouldn’t cause suspicion or hesitation. On the contrary sports prove that having a disability in a certain field does not mean that person can’t be talented and successful in another field. With these games Jerusalem is sending not only an athletic message but also a social one, and these games aim to counter the suspicion towards the different, that sadly still exists.”
BPI-info
BPI-info
