Special Olympics Gymnastics: A 50 Year History2006 - USA Games

2006 USA National GamesJuly 2-7, 2006Ames, IowaOur first USA National Games and our motto was Compete. Empower. Unite.New FigureThe mission was to “promote a first-class sporting event that celebrates the achievements of Special Olympic athletes in an Olympic Environment:

Showcase their talents.

Promote understanding of the qualities and capabilities of persons with intellectual abilities.

Increase public awareness and acceptance.

Gymnastics was held at the Ames High School. Artistic Gymnastics and Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions were held. The equipment was provided free from AAI.Both local and national judges participated. Our head official was John Burkel. The Technical Delegates were Cindy Bickman for Rhythmic and Kate Hickie for Artistic Gymnastics. The sport Commissioner was K.J. Kindler.Artistic Gymnasts could compete in levels I-IV in all events (women 4, men 6) plus all around or athletes could be specialists. Rhythmic gymnasts could compete in levels I through IV. Level IV in both Rhythmic and Artistic gymnastics were optional routines only. Levels I- III were compulsory routines.There were 7 level I rhythmic gymnasts, 13 level II, and 2 level III. Artistic women included 10 level I, 22 level II, and 14 gymnasts in levels III & IV. The men included 12 level I, 10 level II, and 6 level III & IV gymnasts.Chapters that participated:

Rhythmic- Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, S. Carolina, Virginia & Wisconsin.

Artistic- Arizona, Arkansas, N. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, N. Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, S. Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin.

Our schedule included practice in both rhythmic & artistic on Sunday, July 2. Competition was for artistic preliminaries on Mon, July 3 and rhythmic preliminaries on Tue, July 4. Wed, July 5 was artistic finals and awards while Th,July 6 was rhythmic finals and awards. We had clinics and demos throughout the week and athletes enjoyed Olympic Town and the Festival Village. We hosted a 45 minute Gymnastics show after competition on July 6, where we showcased the gymnasts.Demonstration
GymnastThe games provided lifelong wonderful memories for the gymnasts, volunteers, coaches, judges and family members.

Comp Mgmnt TeamGymnast Performing
Gymnastics 50 CoverDocument NavigationAcknowledgementsContentsForeword and MissionSpecial Olympics Gymnastics MilestonesSpecial Olympics Gymnastics Sport DirectorGymnastic Sport PlansGymnastics Sports Rules Sub CommitteesRole of the Coach in Special Olympics GymnasticsRole of Officials and Parents in Special Olympics Gymnastics50 Years of Competitions and Events1983 - International Special Olympics Summer Games1987 - International Summer Games - Notre Dame, Indiana1991 - International Summer Games - Minneapolis/St. Paul1993 - US Olympic Festival1995 - World Summer Games - New Haven, Connecticut1995 - European Regional Training School - Rome, Italy1999 - World Summer Games - North Carolina2003 - World Summer Games - Dublin, Ireland2006 - USA Games - Ames, Iowa2007 - World Summer Games, Shanghai, China2010 - USA Games, Nebraska2011 - Inaugural USA Gymnastics/SO Championships2011 - World Summer Games, Athens, Greece2014 – USA Games, Trenton, New Jersey2015 - World Summer Games, Los Angeles, California2018 – USA Games, Seattle, Washington2018 - 50th Anniversary of Special Olympics2019 - World Summer Games - Abu Dhabi2022 - USA Games - Orlando, FloridaFinal Word