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Special Olympics Reach Report 2008

Reach Report

2008


May 2009

This annual report summarizes data and key findings describing the breadth and depth of the global Special Olympics movement – hence the title “Reach Report.” Data on athletes, coaches, competitions, financial and in-kind support from nearly 170 countries was compiled to produce this year’s report. Special Olympics, Inc. greatly appreciates the hard work invested by Programs, Regional staff members and volunteers worldwide to gather and report 2008 Special Olympics Census data.

Special Olympics, Inc.1133 19th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20036 USAPhone: +1 (202) 628-3630

Fax +1 (202) 824-0200www.specialolympics.org

Reach Report 2008


The Year in Brief

Athlete Participation

Growth• Special Olympics grew at a 10.5 percent rate• We currently serve approximately 3.2 million athletes worldwide

Age• Nearly 68 percent of our athletes are of school age (8-21)• Over 31 percent are adults (22+)• Special Olympics also serves more than 27,000 individuals ages 2-7

Sports• The Movement’s top sports include athletics, football, basketball, bowling, aquatics and table-tennis• Over 200,000 athletes and partners are now engaged in Unified Sports opportunities• 27,243 athletes serve in leadership positions offered through Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs)

Program Development Data

Coaches• More than 260,000 coaches supported Special Olympics athletes – 11.3 percent growth on a year earlier

Competitions• Nearly 33,000 competitions organized around the world, 90 competitions hosted every day• 2.5 million individuals experienced Special Olympics competitions in 2008

Revenue• Cash revenue generated by Special Olympics Programs amounted to 176 million USD in 2008• In-kind revenue exceeded 70 million USD


Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1

Program Development Data – the Foundation for Success 3

Detailed Findings by Area:

The Movement’s Reach Growth 4 Serving the World 5Average Program Size 6

QualityAthletes-to-Participants Ratio 7 Coaches 8 Competitions 9

SupportCash and In-kind Donations 10

ParticipationAthlete Demographics – age and gender distribution 11 Sports Participation 12

Most Popular Sports 12Unified Sports® 13Motor Activities Training Program (MATP) 13Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs) 14

Regional Results Directory 15 Methodology and Definitions 24


Executive Summary The current Special Olympics Reach Report is designed to provide a summary of key programmatic results achieved globally in the framework of Special Olympics activities conducted in the course of the year 2008. Special Olympics operates in nearly 170 countries, 50 U.S. States and three U.S. territories. By collecting data from all of the Programs across the globe, the Movement continues to reinforce its commitment to development and monitoring of the objective parameters that measure the organization’s progress and accomplishments. Athlete participation information has been consistently collected since 2002. In addition, the 2006 Special Olympics Census paved the way for gathering data about coaches, competitions, cash and in-kind donations1. Collectively, these inputs inform the tracking of progress toward achieving the growth, quality, and revenue goals outlined in the 2006-2010 Strategic Plan.

GrowthIn 2008, Special Olympics continued to grow steadily and expanded the global reach at an annual rate of 10.5 percent. In the course of the year the Movement delivered sports training and competition opportunities to 3,177,410 athletes across the globe and exceeded well ahead of schedule the 2010 Strategic Goal of serving 3 million individuals with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Asia-Pacific recruited new athletes at the annual rate of 19.8 percent and emerged as the organization’s fastest growing region, followed by Africa and East Asia that posted 12.4 percent and 12.0 percent growth rates, respectively. In the past year, the Movement’s two largest regions - Asia-Pacific and East Asia - accounted for an overwhelming majority of the new Special Olympics athletes (68 percent). The overall regional distribution of athletes is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Regional Distribution of Special Olympics Athletes, 2008

Geographic Distribution of Special Olympics Athlete Population (2008)

North America 20%

Africa 4%

MENA4%

East Asia 27%

Asia-Pacific22%

Latin America 9%

Europe/Eurasia 15%

1 Definitions for these metrics can be found in the methodology section at the back of the current document.

1


While the most popular Special Olympics sports remain unchanged and include athletics, football, basketball, bowling, aquatics and table-tennis, in 2008, the Programs reported some notable trends in the demographic characteristics of the athlete population:

• The ratio of male to female athletes has decreased to 1.6-to-1 signaling a trend toward greater engagement of female athletes.

• Nearly 68 percent of Special Olympics athletes are of school age (8-21) and this age group is shrinking, while the proportions of adult athletes (age 22 and over) and young athletes (2-7) are increasing gradually. In 2008, adult athletes and young athletes accounted for 31.3 percent and 0.9 percent of the athlete population, respectively. The number of children ages 2-7 that trained according to Special Olympics rules increased by over 50 percent (to 27,243 individuals) as compared to the previous year.

• Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs) experienced a period of brisk growth and expanded by 59 percent as compared to 2007 – nearly six times faster than the overall growth rate for the Movement. Special Olympics currently offers leadership opportunities to 21,218 athletes (0.7% of all athletes).

Quality The Movement continues to sharpen the focus on delivering year-round competition opportunities in a variety of sports. In the course of 2008, Special Olympics offered athletes 2,000 more competitions than a year earlier and increased the overall number to 32,817 – with 90 competitions staged every day around the world. Over offered by the Programs.

Throughout the world 260,232 coaches supported Special Olympics athletes in the course of training and competitive endeavors. Three of the Movement’s seven Regions reported double-digit increases in the numbers of coaches and the overall cohort gained over 26 thousand new recruits. North America accounts for 42 percent of all coaches, followed by Asia-Pacific and East Asia (18 percent in each of these two regions). As a result of the strong growth in the number of coaches, Special Olympics continues to provide individualized attention – the worldwide athletes-to-coaches ratio improved in 2008 and reached 12.2 athletes per every coach (down from 12.6 athletes per every coach in 2006 and 12.3 – in 2007).

SupportFor 2007, Movement-wide revenue amounted to more than 176 million USD1. U.S.-based Programs continued to generate the vast majority of the Movement’s cash donations, contributing over 80 percent of the total cash income brought in by Special Olympics Programs worldwide. If cash donations across all Programs could be distributed equally to Special Olympics athletes, in 2008 global donations per athlete would amount to 55.4 USD – approximately 20 percent lower than a year earlier and 15.4 lower than the 2006 level.

2 Movement-wide revenue is the sum of self-reported cash income (does no include in-kind( from Programs. This figure does not include revenue generated by Special Olympics, Inc.

2


Program Development Data – The Foundation for SuccessSpecial Olympics continues steady expansion of the organization’s reach and athlete participation. In 2008, the Movement surpassed its 2006-2010 strategic growth goal of 3 million athletes and provided sports training and competition opportunities to nearly 3.18 million individuals worldwide. The expanding scope of services and the growing promise to individuals with intellectual disabilities and family members require development and consistent deployment of capabilities in the areas of coaches’ recruitment and education, delivery of competitions, communications and fundraising. Since 2006, Special Olympics has been applying a consistent set of definitions to track the dynamics of participation for athletes and coaches, frequency of competitions and the extent of the cash and in-kind fundraising contributions. Collectively these factors are known as Critical Program Development Indicators (CPDIs).

In 2008, Special Olympics reached out to 300,784 new athletes – a 10.5 percent increase in the number of individuals served. However, this stable growth in the number of athletes corresponded with a decline of 11 percent in the amount of cash revenue generated by Special Olympics Programs around the world and only modest growth of 5.4 percent in the amount of in-kind contributions. To offset the decline in revenues and sustain the quality of activities Programs rely on increasing numbers of coaches and volunteers. In the course of 2008, for example, Special Olympics engaged 26,335 new coaches. Available CPDIs continue to point to wide disparities in the types of service delivery models across the seven Regions. Middle East/North Africa and Asia-Pacific favor larger competitions and on average in these Regions every competition attracts 420 and 245 athletes, respectively. By contrast, in North America and Africa only 41 and 35 athletes, respectively, take part in an average competitive opportunity. Programs in North America generated 238.2 USD of cash income per athlete – 450 times more than Programs in East Asia and nearly six times more than in Europe/Eurasia.

Special Olympics Progress Toward 2010 Growth Goal

3 million

2 million

1 million

02006 2007 2008 2010

Special Olympics has surpassed

the 2006-2010 Strategic Growth Goal of 3 million

athletes

RegionAfrica

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

Athletes95,830

577,634

698,186

309,231

196,378

74,449

528,817

2,480,525

Participants19,365

101,363

169,926

169,832

97,631

50,293

88,475

696,885

Total115,195

678,997

868,112

479,063

294,009

124,742

617,292

3,177,410

Coaches9,466

46,818

46,953

30,252

13,621

3,778

109,344

260,232

Competitions3,233

2,774

5,048

3,401

3,089

297

14,975

32,817

Total Revenue1,310,359

5,003,899

459,912

18,972,190

2,677,639

622,220

147,039,406

176,125,625

In-kind697,352

3,550,101

308,400

2,993,505

3,549,572

614,340

58,467,484

70,180,754

Table 1: Critical Program Development Indicators, 2008

3


The Movement’s ReachGrowthIn the past year, the organization generated a notably slower rate of growth at the global level than in 2007 – 10.5 percent versus 13.5 percent, respectively. Overall, the deceleration of the Movement’s worldwide expansion results from a deliberate change of priorities and a shift of resources to local sports infrastructure development, training and higher quality of athlete participation. However, at the Regional level the trend resulted in uneven fluctuations. In 2008, Asia-Pacific Region continued to grow at an almost 20 percent rate, while Africa and Middle East/North Africa expanded at approximately half of their 2007 growth rates and Latin America reported near-zero growth. North America defied the trend and increased the number of athletes served across the Region by 9.8 percent (see Table 2 below).

Despite the growth rate fluctuations Asia-Pacific and East Asia Regions continue to catalyze global growth collectively contributing more than 200,000 new athletes. Special Olympics North America was able to sustain the strong positive momentum generated in 2007 and for the second year in a row accounted for nearly 20 percent of the new athletes. Based on the data presented in the charts below, approximately half of all Special Olympics athletes now train and compete in East Asia (27.3 percent of the global athlete population) and Asia-Pacific (21.4 percent), while 80 percent of all athletes come from outside of North America – the organization’s birthplace.

Region

Africa

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

Total Athletes (2006)

81,884

467,128

660,014

426,063

265,324

111,424

522,576

2,534,413


102,507

566,653

774,929

457,375

293,551

119,581

562,030

2,876,626


115,195

678,997

868,112

479,063

294,009

124,742

617,292

3,177,410

Growth (2006- 2007)

20,623

99,525

114,915

31,312

28,227

8,157

39,454

342,213

Growth (2007- 2008)

12,688

112,344

93,183

21,688

458

5,161

55,262

300,784

Growth Rate (2006- 2007)

25.2%

21.3%

17.4%

7.3%

10.6%

7.3%

7.5%

13.5%

Growth Rate(2007- 2008)

12.4%

19.8%

12.0%

4.7%

.2%

4.3%

9.8%

10.5%

Table 2: 2006-2008 Special Olympics Athlete Growth, by Region


North America 20%

Africa 4%

MENA4%

East Asia 27%

Asia-Pacific21%

Latin America 9%

Europe/Eurasia 15%


North America 20%

Africa 4%

MENA4%

East Asia 27%

Asia-Pacific20%

Latin America 9%

Europe/Eurasia 15%

4


Serving the WorldGuided by the Movement’s Mission Statement, Special Olympics is determined to offer sport training and competition opportunities to all individuals with intellectual disability. Over the years, the organization has significantly expanded the geographic scope of its work and engaged millions of new athletes. However, as evidenced by the data in Table 3 below, Special Olympics still serves less than 2 percent of the world’s population of people with intellectual disability.

As a result of multi-year active growth in Asia-Pacific and East Asia, in 2008 the Movement reached important service milestones in these two Regions. In Asia-Pacific Special Olympics now offers training sessions and competitions to 1 percent of the eligible population and over 2 percent of the eligible individuals in East Asia have opportunities to participate in the sporting activities developed by the Programs.

Table 3: Special Olympics Global Service Rate, 2008

Region

Africa

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

Persons with ID (thousands)**

16,783

67,983

41,489

26,526

11,880

11,744

13,332

189,735

# of Special Olympics Athletes

115,195

678,997

868,112

479,063

294,009

124,742

617,292

3,177,410

% of Eligible Population Served by Special Olympics

0.69%

1.00%

2.09%

1.81%

2.47%

1.06%

4.63%

1.67%

Population(thousands)*

559,425

2,266,084

1,382,965

884,184

395,997

391,465

444,391

6,324,511

*Sources: World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revisions. Highlights. New York, United Nations, 2007. For U.S. Program: 2006 Population Estimates Program, U.S. Census Bureau, 2007.**Estimated 1-3 percent of the world’s population have an intellectual disability, according to 2001 World Health Report, Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope, The 3 percent level was applied for the current Report.

5


Average Program SizeThese days Special Olympics Programs are as diverse as ever in terms of the numbers of athletes served, organizational structures and modes of operation. In 2008, the smallest Program in the world offered services to 19 athletes, while the largest provided sports opportunities to 828,053 athletes. There is not a “typical” Special Olympics Program anywhere in the world. However, averages and medians of key parameters – athletes, coaches, competitions and cash donations – help us understand the overarching trends in the development of the Movement. Table 4 below presents the results for 2006-2008:

Over the last three years the average size of a Special Olympics Program increased by over 20 percent. The Programs on average engaged nearly 25 percent more coaches in 2008 than they did in 2006 and organized almost 40 percent more competitions. However, Program-level revenue streams remain volatile as evidenced by the average size of cash donations – after an 8.5 percent year-on-year increase in 2007, last year this indicator plunged by nearly 12 percent erasing all the gains achieved since the launch of the 2006-2010 Strategic Plan.

The median values based on the information captured in 2008 indicate that half of all Special Olympics Programs generate less than 50,000 US dollars per year and serve fewer than 3,200 athletes per Program, suggesting that large numbers of athletes and a major proportion of the revenue generating capacity are concentrated within relatively few established Programs.

Athletes

Coaches

Competitions

Cash Donations

Table 4: 2006-2007 Average and Median Program Size.3

Average Per Program

11,520

922

101

805,280

ProgramMedian

3,336

188

16

40,500

Average Per Program

12,672

1,030

135

874,119

ProgramMedian

3,022

179

20

72,350

Average Per Program

13,912

1,146

139

772,222

Program Median

3,227

200

22

47,600

2006 20082007

3 Average (mean) serves as a mathematical representation of the typical value of a series of numbers, computed as the sum of all numbers in the series divided by the count of all numbers in the series. Median is defined as sthe midpoint in the range of numbers that arranged in order of value - 50% of the range are above the median and 50% are below.

6


Quality Athletes-to-Participants Ratio A quality Special Olympics experience enables every individual to take part in sports training as well as competitions. The data collected about Special Olympics competitions in 2008 indicates that there were 7 percent more competitive opportunities available last year than in 2007. The athletes-to-participants ratio points to how widely these opportunities were available and how many individuals were able to take advantage of the experiences. Even though there is no “ideal” level for the ratio, Special Olympics believes that the higher values signal improvement since more athletes benefit from both training and competitions. In 2008, this ratio experienced a minimal decline from 3.57 in 2007 to 3.56 in 2008. However, as indicated in Table 5 below, in 2008, nearly 2.5 million individuals (2,480,525) with intellectual disability got a chance to compete in Special Olympics events representing a 10.4 percent increase in the number of competing athletes over the 2007 level and a 28.1 percent increase as compared to 2006.

Globally, 78 percent of individuals engaged in Special Olympics took part in competitions in 2007 and 2008. However, at the regional level there are notable disparities in the proportion of participants – those individuals with intellectual disability who trained but did not compete in the course of the year. In North America, participants accounted for 14.3 percent of the total involvement in Special Olympics, while in Middle East/North Africa this indicator reached 40.3 percent. Over the years the global athletes-to-participants ratio has demonstrated improvements rising from on average 2.7 in 2000-2006 to 2.9 in 2000-2008. The renewed focus on quality has enabled Special Olympics to offset sharp declines in the ratio caused by the rapid expansion in 2000-2005.

Region

Africa

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

Athletes

71,041

271,410

627,189

264,472

173,636

70,846

457,808

1,936,402

Participants

10,843

195,718

32,825

161,591

91,688

40,578

64,768

598,011

Athletes/Participants

Ratio

6.55

1.39

19.11

1.64

1.89

1.75

7.07

3.24

2006 20082007

Athletes

87,399

468,993

660,638

285,500

183,262

74,179

487,513

2,247,484

Participants

15,108

97,660

114,291

171,875

110,289

45,402

74,517

629,142


Ratio

5.78

4,80

5.78

1.66

1.66

1.63

6.54

3.57

Athletes

95,830

577,634

698,186

309,231

196,378

74,449

528,817

2,480,525

Participants

19,365

101,363

169,926

169,832

97,631

50,293

88,475

696,885


Ratio

6.55

1.39

19.11

1.64

1.89

1.75

7.07

3.24

Table 5: Athletes-to-Participants Ratio Comparison, 2006-2008

Athletes-to-Participants Ratio, 2000-20084

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.52000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

2000-2005 Strategic Plan - focused on growth

2006-2010 Strategic Plan - focused on quality

7


Coaches Although multiple other considerations can play a role, individualized attention of qualified coaches represents an important factor that determines the quality of Special Olympics training and competition experiences. Thus, the number of coaches compared to the number of athletes serves as an indicator of quality that can be uniformly applied across the Movement. In the framework of the current Report we do not assess coaching qualifications and apply a very broad definition of a “coach” that includes all individuals who provided sports instruction to Special Olympics athletes in a given year. It is also implied that there is no single best coaching formula and varying sports, athlete ability levels and other factors determine numbers of coaches recruited by Special Olympics Programs. In 2007, Special Olympics achieved a rate of growth in the number of coaches in excess of 11 percent (See Table 6 below), however the athletes-to-coaches ratio improved only in three of the Movement’s seven Regions (Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe/Eurasia) pointing to a potential mismatch with growth in the number of athletes.

Region

Africa

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

Athletes

102,507

566,653

774,929

457,375

293,551

119,581

562,030

2,876,626

Coaches

7,541

34,872

47,424

23,458

15,066

4,172

101,364

233,897

Athletes/Coaches

Ratio

13.6

16.2

16.3

19.5

19.5

28.7

5.5

12.3

2006 20082007

Table 6: Coaches by Region, 2007-2008

Coaches as % of

Worldwide Total

3.2%

14.9%

20.3%

10.0%

6.4%

1.8%

43.3%

100%

Athletes

115,195

678,997

868,112

479,063

294,009

124,742

617,292

3,177,410

Coaches

9,466

46,818

46,953

30,252

13,621

3,778

109,344

260,232

Athletes/Coaches

Ratio

12.2

14.5

18.5

15.8

21.6

33.0

5.6

12.2

Coaches as % of

Worldside Total

3.6%

18.0%

18.0%

11.6%

5.2%

1.5%

42.0%

100%

8


CompetitionsIn the past year, Special Olympics continued to offer growing numbers of competitive opportunities. Instead of 60 competitions organized every day in 2006, throughout 2008 Special Olympics athletes had a chance to participate in 90 competitive events that took place every day around the world! With the global competitions growth rate above 7 percent, Special Olympics Africa added competitions at a brisk pace of 54 percent, followed by Europe/Eurasia (15.2 percent) and North America (9.9 percent).

Special Olympics North America continues to account for over 45 percent of all competitive events with Special Olympics Africa demonstrating notable gains in 2008and currently offering 10 percent of competitions.

2008 Competitions32,817 Every Year90 Every Day

Region

Africa

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

# of Competitions

2,097

3,641

5,040

2,952

3,104

284

13,621

30,739

2006 20082007

% of the Worldwide Total

6.8%

11.8%

16.4%

9.6%

10.1%

0.9%

44.3%

100.0%

# of Competitions

3,233

2,774

5,048

3,401

3,089

297

14,975

32,817

% of the

Worldwide Total

9.9%

8.5%

15.4%

10.4%

9.4%

0.9%

45.6%

100.0%

9

Table 7: Competitions by Region, 2007-2008


Cash and In-kind DonationsSpecial Olympics Programs (excluding Special Olympics, Inc.) raised almost 176.1 million USD of cash revenue in 2008. As compared to a year earlier, the Movement’s cash contributions declined by 11 percent driven by notable Regional-level decreases in East Asia, Europe/Eurasia, Africa and North America. Asia-Pacific was the only Region to buck the trend and post 133 percent increase in donations. The organization-wide fall in cash revenue was partly offset by a 5.4 percent expansion of in-kind contributions with Asia-Pacific, Middle East/North Africa and Latin America Regions achieving triple-digit growth in this revenue category. As indicated in Table 8 below, Special Olympics Programs in North America continue to lead in terms of cash and in-kind revenue generated as a proportion of the worldwide total.

“Donations per athlete” represent another key parameter of the Movement’s fundraising capabilities. To understand this indicator, it is critical to account for the fact that “donations per athlete” do not represent and are not synonymous with “cost per athlete”, since “donations per athlete” only account for the actual revenue generated and do not capture the budgeted and/or actual expenses related to Special Olympics services. In 2008, the level of donations per athlete declined in five of the Movement’s seven Regions with Asia-Pacific and Latin America representing the two exceptions from the global trend.

At 238.2 USD per athlete, Special Olympics North America continues to demonstrate the highest Regional level of revenue generation per athlete. If cash donations brought in by all Programs could be distributed equally across all Special Olympics athletes, in 2008 global donations per athlete would be 55.4 USD – 19.7 percent lower than a year earlier and 15.4 percent lower than the 2006 level.

Region

Africa

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

% of theWorldwide Total

0.8%

1.1%

0.5%

17.5%

1.3%

0.3%

78.5%

100.0%

% of the W orldwide Total

1.9%

0.5%

2.7%

5.9%

1.9%

0.4%

86.6%

100%

2006 20082007

Table 8: Cash and In-kind Donations, 2007-2008

In-K ind Rev enue

(USD)

1,291,405

328,953

1,828,765

3,929,020

1,263,697

296,250

57,675,553

66,613,643

Cas h

Rev enue (USD)

1,592,028

2,145,531

1,078,147

34,716,816

2,510,430

664,992

155,717,029

198,424,973

% of theWorldide Total

0.7%

2.8%

0.3%

10.8%

1.5%

0.4%

83.5%

100.0%

% of the W orldside Total

1.0%

5.1%

0.4%

4.3%

5.1%

0.9%

83.3%

100%

In-K ind Rev enue

(USD)

697,352

3,550,101

308,400

2,993,505

3,549,572

614,340

58,467,484

70,180,754

Cas h Rev enue

(USD)

1,310,359

5,003,899

459,912

18,972,190

2,677,639

662,220

147,039,406

176,125,625

2007Donations PerAthlete (Cash

Only, USD)

15.5

3.8

1.4

75.9

8.6

5.6

277.1

69

2006

Donations PerAthlete (Cash

Only, USD)

6.1

8.2

1.1

19.3

6.4

2.1

288.4

65.5

2008Donations PerAthlete (Cash

Only, USD)

11.4

7.4

0.5

39.6

9.1

5.3

238.2

55.4

Table 9: Donations Per Athlete, 2007-2008

Region

Africa

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

SUPPORT

10

CashRevenue(USD)

% of theWorldwide

Total

In-KindRevenue(USD)

% of theWorldwide

Total

CashRevenue(USD)

% of theWorldwide

Total

In-KindRevenue(USD)

% of theWorldwide

Total


Athlete Demographics – age and gender distributionAs Table 10 below indicates, at the global level athletes 8 to 15 years of age constitute over one third of all individuals participating in Special Olympics. School age athletes that fall into 8-15 and 16-21 age groups comprise nearly 68 percent of the worldwide athlete population – a decline of one percentage point from the 2007 level, while adult athletes (22 years of age and older) account for nearly 30 percent.

At the Regional level, North America continues to serve the highest proportion of athletes 22 years of age and older, though the contribution of this age group to the overall athlete population is declining and has fallen below 44 percent of the Regional total. East Asia serves large numbers of younger athletes in the 8-15 age group (over 38 percent) and Africa focuses on athletes in the 16-21 age group (over 44 percent of the Regional total). While these variations reflect the differences in approaches taken by the Regions in delivering Special Olympics sports training and competitions, in 2007 and 2008, the disparities have been diminishing and possibly pointing to more balanced recruitment efforts across age groups.

Since 2007, data is collected about young individuals (ages 2-5 and 6-7), who train according to Special Olympics rules and guidelines, but are not yet eligible to compete. In 2008, the number of children with intellectual disabilities ages 2-7 that train around the world increased by over 50 percent as compared to the previous year. Overall, representatives of the two youngest age groups contribute less than one percent to the global total; however, in Africa and North America the youngest athletes account for 1.8 and 2.4 percent of the athlete populations, respectively, signaling a strong interest in the Young Athletes initiative and related programming.

GenderIn 2008, female athletes accounted for 38 percent of the Movement-wide total (male athletes constituted 62 percent of the population) representing an increase of one percentage point over a year earlier – a substantial change considering that despite the overall aggressive growth, the proportion of Special Olympics male athletes remained unchanged in 2002-2007. Among the seven Special Olympics Regions, Asia-Pacific reported the highest level of female participation (42 percent), followed by Africa (41 percent). At the opposite end of the spectrum, male athletes accounted for 71 percent of the total athlete participation in the Middle East/North Africa Region, and 65 percent in Europe/Eurasia and Latin America Regions.

PARTICIPATION

Region

Africa

Asia-Pacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

6-7

1,161

962

1,065

2,032

1,728

765

8,064

15,777

16-21

49,982

258,719

284,024

162,518

102,420

47,152

162,869

1,067,684

2006 Age Groups - as % of Regional TotalAge Groups - Total Athletes

Table 10: Age Groups by Region, 2008

8-15

31,660

232,183

332,013

171,600

105,802

44,433

166,699

1,084,390

2-5

901

384

469

573

1,970

168

7,001

11.466

22+

31,497

186,749

250,541

142,340

82,089

32,224

269,104

994,544

6-7

1.0%

0.1%

0.1%

0.4%

0.6%

0.6%

1.3%

0.5%

16-21

43.4%

38.1%

32.7%

33.9%

34.8%

37.8%

26.5%

33.6%

8-15

27.5%

34.2%

38.2%

35.8%

36.0%

35.6%

27.2%

34.2%

2-5

0.8%

0.1%

0.1%

0.1%

0.7%

0.1%

1.1%

0.4%

22+

27.3%

27.5%

28.9%

29.7%

27.9%

25.8%

43.8%

31.3%

Total

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

11


Most Popular SportsIn the course of 2008, on average, every athlete in Special Olympics participated in training sessions and competitions in 1.2 sports. Nearly 70 percent of all sports experiences were associated with the six most popular kinds of sports presented in Table 12 below. The respective levels of popularity remained stable over the last three years. However, disparate patterns emerged since Special Olympics Census data collection commenced in 2002.

The Movement’s most popular sport – athletics – has been continuously losing in popularity as a result of dedicated efforts to offer Special Olympics athletes a broader range of training and competitive opportunities. Football gained in popularity in 2004-2005 following concerted expansion efforts in Europe/Eurasia and Latin America, but the proportion of football players stagnated at the 10 percent level for the last four years. The growing number of athletes engaged in sports other than the “Top 6” further illustrates the global trend toward diversification of athlete experiences, though in 2008, the less popular sports accounted for only 30 percent of all training sessions and competitions.

Throughout 2008, nearly 158 thousand Special Olympics athletes took part in Nationally Popular Sports offered by Special Olympics Programs representing a 163 percent increase in this segment of the athlete population as compared to the year earlier. Currently over 4 percent of athletes participate in Nationally Popular Sports and the combined share of these experiences approaches popularity of table tennis, the Movement’s sixth most popular sport.

SPORTS PARTICIPATION

Table 12: Trends in Popular Sports 2002-2008

Sport

Athletics

Football

Basketball

Bowling

Aquatics

Table Tennis

Other Sports

2003

30%

8%

11%

11%

6%

4%

30%

2005

34%

10%

11%

9%

6%

4%

26%

2006Percent of Athletes Participating in Top Sports

2004

30%

8%

11%

11%

6%

4%

30%

2002

37%

8%

11%

12%

7%

1%

24%

2006

34%

10%

9%

8%

5%

5%

29%

2008

33%

10%

9%

7%

6%

5%

30%

2007

34%

10%

9%

7%

6%

5%

29%

1312


Unified Sports With Unified Sports participation increasing by 35 percent in 2008, athletes and partners involved in the program constituted the fastest growing segment of the overall Special Olympics athlete population. Moreover, the expansion of Unified Sports further accelerated in the past year, up from the 28 percent growth rates achieved in 2006 and 2007. The recruitment of athletes continues to outpace the delivery of services to new partners. Data presented in Table 13 below indicates that last year Special Olympics achieved 38 percent growth in the number of Unified Sports athletes, while the number of partners increased at a 30 percent rate, leading to a further shift in the athletes-to-partners ratio – from 1.27 athletes per partner in 2006; to 1.6 in 2007 and 1.69 in 2008. The most popular sports offered in the Unified Sports format continue to be football, basketball and athletics.

Motor Activity Training Program (MATP)In 2008, MATP participation grew by 11.6 percent, primarily as a result of the strong increase in MATP activities reported by Programs in North America (21.7 percent).

The rapid expansion of MATP services in North America firmly established the Region’s leading position accounting for 44 percent of all MATP participants, followed by Europe/Eurasia with 35 percent. Together these two Regions (See Table 14) continue to provide sports opportunities for nearly four-fifths of all MATP athletes. At the same time, East Asia and Africa Regions report the fastest annual growth rates increasing participation in the initiative by 85 and 57 percent, respectively. Since 2002, when the first comprehensive MATP results were reported, the number of individuals benefiting from the program expanded by 82 percent with growth taking place in all seven Special Olympics Regions.

SPORTS PARTICIPATION

Table 13: Unified Sports Participation, 2002-2008

Sport

Unified Sports Participation

2003

63,306

2005

90,997

2006

2004

73,801

2002

71,380

2006

119,044

2007

Athletes

94,035

Partners

58,681

Total

152,716

2007

Athletes

129,623

Partners

75,507

Total

206,130

Region

Africa

AsiaPacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

2006Motor Activities Training Program Participation 2002

80

523

41

10,275

482

262

10,764

22,427

2003

40

575

0

14,402

634

553

10,964

27,169

2004

471

764

219

17,220

666

1,224

13,987

34,551

2005

475

3,354

132

20,474

1,148

1,135

13,403

40,121

2006

937

3,791

473

20,339

1,389

1,693

13,139

41,761

2007

391

3,405

594

13,841

2,299

1,338

14,709

36,576

2008

612

3,463

1,097

14,132

2,272

1,360

17,911

40,847

13


Regi

onal

Res

ults

- M

iddl

e Ea

st/N

orth

Afr

ica

21


Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs)For the second year in a row Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Programs experience robust gains in popularity – a 60 percent jump in ALPs participation reported for 2008 builds upon the 14 percent growth rate achieved a year earlier (See Table 15 below). Five of the seven Special Olympics Regions were able to increase the reach of athlete leadership offerings with the ALPs population in Africa skyrocketing more than 10 times above the 2007 level. The strong growth achieved in 2008 enabled Special Olympics Africa to account for over 25 percent of all ALPs athletes – more than the combined total for Asia-Pacific, Middle East/North Africa and North America. East Asia and Latin America Regions account for 21.5 percent and 18.3 percent of the ALPs athletes, respectively, followed by Europe/Eurasia with 12.3 percent.

The steady growth in the numbers of ALPs athletes at the global level has increased the proportion of athlete leaders in the overall Special Olympics athlete population from 0.46 percent in 2007 to 0.67 percent in 2008; however, despite the dynamic three-fold expansion of ALPs programming between 2002 and 2008 the Movement is yet to reach the 1 percent level for Special Olympics athletes serving in leadership positions.

Region

Africa

AsiaPacific

East Asia

Europe/Eurasia

Latin America

MENA

North America

Worldwide

2006Athlete Leadership Programs 2002

432

170

595

569

4,005

281

1,006

7,058

2003

1,216

298

1,091

869

2,045

323

2,618

8,460

2004

108

235

1,265

1,027

1,215

555

2,349

6,754

2005

108

156

1,346

1,409

3,608

985

2,411

10,023

2006

398

480

1,829

1,361

4,081

1,077

2,472

11,698

2007

451

843

2,742

1,926

3,514

1,372

2,474

13,322

2008

5,362

554

4,571

2,611

3,892

2,147

2,081

21,218

Table 15: ALPs Participation, 2002-2008

14


Regional Results Directory Below is the report of the 2008 Census results presented alphabetically by Region and by Program. For comparison, 2007 Census data is included as well.

All of the background information can also be found in an electronic format through the Program Development System (PDS) under the 2008 Athlete Participation reporting options and the 2009 Program Information Profile data (2008 Actual results for coaches, competitions, cash and in-kind revenue).

15


Regi

onal

Res

ults

- A

fric

a

16


Regi

onal

Res

ults

- A

sia-

Paci

fic

East

Asi

a

17


Regi

onal

Res

ults

- E

urop

e/Eu

rasi

a

18

Special Olympics Reach Report 2008 19


Regi

onal

Res

ults

- L

atin

Am

eric

a

20


Regi

onal

Res

ults

- M

iddl

e Ea

st/N

orth

Am

eric

a

21


Regi

onal

Res

ults

- N

orth

Am

eric

a

22

Special Olympics Reach Report 2008 23


APPENDIXMethodology and DefinitionsIn the framework of the 2008 Special Olympics Census, each Special Olympics Program submitted an Athlete Participation Summary (APS) form, which is housed in the Program Development System (PDS). The additional metrics collected were also submitted through PDS in the Program Information Profile (PIP). All data was captured in PDS by March 31, 2009.

The 2008 Census captured athlete participation data (including Unified Sports, MATP and ALPs), as well as information about coaches, competitions, cash and in-kind donations received by Special Olympics Programs.

In the course of data collection, analysis and presentation, Special Olympics relied on the following set of definitions:

Athlete A Special Olympics athlete is a person with an intellectual disability who trains in a Special Olympics sport and who competes at least once in that sport at a Special Olympics Games or competition at any level (local, state, national, regional, or world) during the calendar year (1 January - 31 December);

-Or-

A Special Olympics athlete is a person with an intellectual disability who participates in Motor Activities Training Program.

Participant A Special Olympics participant is a person with an intellectual disability who trains in a Special Olympics sport but has not competed at least once in a Special Olympics Games or competition at any level (local, state, national, regional, or world) during the calendar year (1 January - 31 December).

Unified Sports Special Olympics “Unified Sports®” is a program that combines Special Olympics athletes and athletes without intellectual disabilities on sports teams for training and competition.

Unified Sports Athlete A Special Olympics Unified Sports Athlete is a person with an intellectual disability who trains in a Special Olympics “Unified” sport and who competes at least once in that sport at a Special Olympics Games or competition at any level (local, state, national, regional, or world) during the calendar year (1 January - 31 December).

Unified Sports Partner A Special Olympics Unified Sports Partner is a person without an intellectual disability who trains in a Special Olympics “Unified” sport and who competes at least once in that sport at a Special Olympics Games or competition at any level (local, state, national, regional, or world) during the calendar year (1 January - 31 December).

Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs) Athlete An Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs) Athlete is defined as a person with an intellectual disability who participates in at least one Athlete Leadership Program and fulfills the definition of a Special Olympics Athlete as defined in these instructions

24


Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs) Participant An Athlete Leadership Program Participant (ALPs) is defined as a person with an intellectual disability who participates in at least one Athlete Leadership Program and fulfills the definition of a Special Olympics Participant set forth in these instructions

-Or-

An Athlete Leadership Program Participant (ALPs) is defined as a person with an intellectual disability who participates in at least one Athlete Leadership Program and is not training or competing as an athlete or participant.

Motor Activities Training Program (MATP) A MATP athlete is a person with an intellectual disability that participates in MATP activities during the calendar year January 1-December 31. MATP activities are designed for individuals with intellectual disabilities with severe limitations who do not yet possess the physical and/or behavioral skills necessary to participate in official Special Olympics sports.

“Other” Sports “Other” Sports are those sports that are not official sports but are locally popular or recognized sports.

The word “other” on the APS form in the Sports Column is designated to collect data for other sports that are not listed on the form (for example, Recognized sports).

An example of “other” is the sport of cricket for South Africa. Cricket is not an official Special Olympics sport. However, it is offered by Special Olympics South Africa and provides data for growth of new sports.

Total Revenue (USD) DefinitionRevenue includes SOI distributions (such as direct mail and grants, including Christmas Records Grants), contributions from individuals, royalties and sponsorships from corporations, government support, foundation grants, and community support. Report the estimated total revenue (in USD) that your Program received from all sources during the calendar year 1 January to 31 December (except for in-kind donations -- these will be reported separately below).

In-Kind Donations In-kind donations are goods and services provided free of charge to Programs to support their operations. Report the value of in-kind donations (USD) your Program received from 1 January to 31 December.

Number of Competition Opportunities Competitions can include all forms of competition, including: multi-sport “Games,” local level league play for team sports, single sport meets and competitions. Report the total number of competitions that have been conducted at all Program levels from 1 January to 31 December.

Coaches A coach provides Special Olympics athletes with comprehensive sports training and preparation for competitions. Report the total number of coaches that have coached athletes from 1 January to 31 December.

25

APPENDIX


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