The Paralympics and Special Olympics: Should They Remain Seperate?

    The Special Olympics values its unwavering dedication to diversity, just as the Paralympics does. These two organizations foster inclusion not only in sports but in society. They showcase athletes with disabilities and their participation in sports competitions on national or global platforms. Despite their similarities, they have differences in three distinct scopes, including the athletes and their disabilities, the standards the athletes must adhere to, and the organizational structure of their respective groups. With the upcoming 2023 Special Olympics in Berlin and the 2024 Paralympic Games, the question is, do these two organizations have to remain separate?

    The Paralympics and Special Olympics are movements of inclusion, exhibiting the abilities of athletes with disabilities. Competition ignites passion in these individuals and motivates them to be their best. While both their values align, they differ in their objectives. The Special Olympics specializes in athletes with cognitive disabilities, as opposed to the Paralympics, with athletes falling into ten different physical impairment categories. Because of the uniqueness of the Special Olympics, they do not omit any athlete based on their qualifying marks, rather they are divided into fair competitions with similar abilities. Paralympians must train and undergo a qualification process determining their participation in their sport. With significant differences like these, the Special Olympics and Paralympics should remain separate. 

Special Olympics vs Paralympics Infographic from UCLA

    The qualification process is standard for athletes looking to elevate their career on a Paralympic level. This also goes for those with intellectual disabilities. Athletes with cognitive delays who are also physically impaired and qualify to meet the standards of the Paralympics should be allowed to participate. Like many other Paralympians, which are subject to future qualification processes, Paralympians with intellectual disabilities should as well. Standards put in place, like this, prevents cheating in individual sports and team sports. According to a BBC article regarding the process for athletes with intellectual challenges, they undergo a standard test, a psychologist's assessment, and a sports-specific classification. These strict policies were implemented after the 2000 Paralympic games, where Spain's basketball team was found to be falsifying the disabilities of ten of their players. Because of that, many athletes with intellectual disabilities were not able to participate, as these events were not permitted to play until 2012. With more rigid processes for those with intellectual disabilities to go through, the likelihood of cheating significantly decreases, while giving these athletes a chance to compete on a Paralympic level. 

All in all, the discrepancies between the Special Olympics and Paralympics regulations and qualifications make it so that these two organizations should be kept separate. While the Special Olympics permits all athletes with cognitive disabilities, these athletes would have to meet standards for the Paralympics. Moreover, the assessments athletes would have to go through are rigorous and leave no room for fraud. Although the Special Olympics and Paralympics are separate alliances, they stand for the same movement, to include inclusivity for all athletes.