ABOUT
ABOUT PROVINCIAL GAMES
The Provincial Games are held on a rotating basis over a four-year period. Athletes based on age, gender, performance and regional endorsement are selected from these Provincial Games to advance to compete for Team Ontario at the 2026 National Summer Games set to be hosted in Medicine Hat, AB.
Special Olympics athletes who compete in lower and middle skill levels have an equal opportunity to advance to a higher level of competition as those athletes who have participated in a more advanced skill level. To ensure that this is so, athlete advancement is determined by an individual's performance relative to his/her peers of equal skill level. Once Team Ontario members are announced, competitors will be registered in events according to their results achieved at the Provincial Games in the year preceding National Games.
ABOUT SPECIAL OLYMPICS
Special Olympics is the world's largest organization dedicated to providing developmental, recreational and competitive sport programming for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics movement now comprises over 172 countries, facilitating year-round opportunities that empower 4.5 million youth and adult athletes worldwide at local, regional and national levels.
Special Olympics has continued to extend its reach beyond recreation and athletics; programs such as Healthy Athletes and Athlete Leadership have been introduced to vitalize the health and personal growth of its athletes. Special Olympics is now the largest public health organization dedicated to people with intellectual disabilities, and its athletes are 5 times more likely to work than adults with an intellectual disability not enrolled in their programs.
Currently, Special Olympics continues to grow as it hosts events that cover a variety of levels. These include grassroots programs, school-based competition, regional games, national games, and world games, as well as community-based fundraising and awareness events. Special Olympics currently has representation in North America, Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe.
ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT TORCH RUN
The Ontario Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR) is the largest public awareness vehicle and grass-roots fundraiser for Special Olympics. Known honourably as Guardians of the Flame, law enforcement members and Special Olympics athletes carry the “Flame of Hope” into the Opening Ceremony of local competitions and into Special Olympics Provincial, National, Regional and World Games. Worldwide annually, more than 97,000 dedicated and compassionate law enforcement members carry the “Flame of Hope,” symbolizing courage and celebration of diversity uniting communities around the globe.
The Torch Run will help to kick-off the events of the 2024 Provincial Spring Games, with the Flame of Hope being carried into the Opening Ceremony during the Final Leg.
