Two in three Special Olympics athletes in Hong Kong unable to compete because of city’s lack of facilities
Baptist University study on sports for disabled people recommended several objectives to provide more and better barrier-free facilities and affordable programmes
More than two-thirds of Hong Kong’s Special Olympics athletes have been unable to compete in their sports because of a lack of locally-organised competitions and games, according to the chairman of the sporting event, Timothy Shriver.
Ideally, 80 to 90 per cent of the 11,765 athletes, who have trained in their sports for a minimum of eight weeks, should have the opportunity to compete, Shriver said.
But just 3,681 of them, or less than a third, had the opportunity to do so as only 21 local competitions – which are crucial to the development and inclusiveness of intellectually disabled people in society – were held in the city last year.
“We should have five times more competitions than we have now,” Shriver said.
As the global trend shifts towards increased inclusiveness and recognition of different rights of people, the Special Olympics, which Shriver stresses is beyond a biannual global sporting event but an important movement that underscores diversity and inclusiveness through sports, becomes ever more relevant.
Hong Kong has between 71,000 to 101,000 intellectually disabled people, according to the latest available government data.
