On Wednesday 19th February a sports event was held in School number 55 of Ulaanbaatar, a special vocational training school for children with disabilities. The event was organised and sponsored by Special Olympics Mongolia to introduce students and parents to the idea that everyone can participate in sporting activities and can compete to the best of their ability.

This week Special Olympics Mongolia has also arranged to hold events in three other schools for children with learning difficulties and intellectual disabilities: school 70, school 63 and school 25. Special Olympics Mongolia hosts weekly sports training for people with intellectual disabilities in Ulaanbaatar through these special schools. According to the National Statistical Office of Mongolia in 2008 there were more than 100,000 persons with disabilities in Mongolia. It is believed that there are 8000 children living with intellectual disabilities in Mongolia and this number grows every year.

These competitions are in preparation for the National Special Olympics Games that will happen later this year in Mongolia. Winners of the National Games will earn the right to attend the 2015 Summer Special Olympics World Games being held in Los Angeles, USA.

The students of school 55 participated as athletes in a volleyball tournament where eight mixed teams competed for gold, silver and bronze medals. The competition was very tough and the athletes played excellent matches. The team who won the gold medal played against the PE teachers and Special Olympics Mongolia coaches. The game was very close but in the end the coaches scored the winning point.

The whole school participated in an athletics fun competition using new equipment funded by Special Olympics Mongolia NGO. Each class from the school was represented by their chosen athletes and were timed while completing an obstacle course including basketball dribbling, sprinting and weaving through hoops. All the athletes were very proud to be a part of the event and the winning teams were overjoyed to be able to show off their medals.

Today a similar sporting competition will be held at school number 63 in Yarmag district of Ulaanbaatar.

Special Olympics Mongolia is a Mongolian registered NGO and is an accredited program of Special Olympics International. The mission of Special Olympics is 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.