Special Olympics Southern California

Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the Special Olympics movement in 1968 in order to provide societal opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The very next year, Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson founded the California chapter with three athletes and we have been growing ever since.
Today, Special Olympics Southern California serves more than12,000 athletes on an annual basis with the assistance of 15,000 volunteers. We operate with a mission to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. Each of our 21 sports is offered in one of three seasons: Winter, Summer or Fall. To maximize the program's benefits, each sport includes a minimum of eight weeks of training and two opportunities to compete. All programs are provided free of charge to ensure that no one is turned away because of an inability to pay.