Become an Athlete | Special Olympics Michigan

Special Olympics helps people of all ages with intellectual disabilities improve their fitness, learn sports skills, and experience the joy of competition and winning through regular training and year-round events.

Our Athletes

With 24 sports to choose from, athletes can train for many different skills and sports. Enrolling in Special Olympics means joining a family of more than 4.2 million Special Olympics athletes worldwide. Athletes will enjoy the best physical training and competition available to such special individuals.

Special Olympics provides opportunities to meet new people, make friends, travel, and enjoy various social events with other athletes and volunteers. It enables families to train together, have common goals, and become an integral part of the sports world in Special Olympics. Through Special Olympics Michigan, athletes gain self-esteem, discipline, and courage, which carry over to all other aspects of their lives, including school, home, and the workplace.

If you or someone you know would like to become a Special Olympics Michigan athlete, please get in touch with us by filling out the athlete interest form on this page.

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in Special Olympics, athletes must have an intellectual disability, a cognitive delay, or a developmental disability; that is, functional limitations in both general learning and adaptive skills. Our eligibility statement can be found at the bottom of this page. Participation in Special Olympics can begin at age 8, and there is no maximum age limit.

Children ages 2-7 can take part in the Young Athletes™ program.

People without intellectual disabilities can take part in Unified Sports (teams that include people with and without intellectual disabilities).

Personal Information

Athlete Name

First

Last

Athlete Date of Birth

Region

Address

Address 2

City/Town

State/Province

ZIP/Postal Code

Email

Phone

Parent/Guardian Name (if applicable)

First

Last

I'm Interested in:

Traditional sports program

For athletes ages 8+

Young Athletes™

For athletes ages 2-7

Motor Activity Training Program

For athletes with severe or profound disabilities

Unified Sports athlete

For traditional Special Olympics Michigan athletes also wishing to train and compete alongside athletes without intellectual disabilities in Unified Sports

Unified Sports partner

For athletes without intellectual disabilities wishing to train and compete alongside traditional Special Olympics Michigan athletes in Unified Sports

Additional comments or questions:

After you complete the athlete interest form, you will be contacted by your local program. As you wait to be contact, please follow Step 2 of the registration process.

For a detailed step-by-step guide on how to complete this process, please view/download the Athlete Registration Guide or watch the registration tutorial video below.

Athlete Registration Guide

Athlete Registration and Medical Forms

Have questions or need help with the registration process? Contact somiforms@somi.org.

Statement of Eligibility

Eligibility for Participation in Special Olympics Special Olympics training and competition is open to every person with intellectual disabilities who is at least eight years of age and who registers to participate in Special Olympics as required by the Special Olympics General Rules.

There is no maximum age limitation for participation in Special Olympics. The minimum age requirement for participants in Special Olympics competition is eight years of age. Children who are at least six years old may participate in age-appropriate Special Olympics training programs offered by SOMI or in specific (and age-appropriate) cultural or social activities offered during the course of a Special Olympics event. Such children may be recognized for their participation, or through other types of recognition approved by SOI, which are not associated with participation in Special Olympics competition. However, no child may participate in a Special Olympics competition (or be awarded medals or ribbons associated with competition) before his or her eighth birthday.

Participation in Special Olympics is open to all persons with intellectual disabilities regardless of the level or degree of that person's disability, and whether or not that person also has other mental or physical disabilities.

A person is considered to have intellectual disabilities (for the purposes of determining eligibility for Special Olympics participation) if that person meets any one of the following requirements:

The person has been identified by an agency or professional as having intellectual disabilities as determined by their localities.
The person has a cognitive delay, as determined by standardized measures such as intelligent quotient or "IQ" testing or other measures, which are generally accepted within the professional community in the U.S. as being a reliable measurement of the existence of a cognitive delay.
The person has a closely related developmental disability. A "closely-related developmental disability" means having functional limitations in both general learning (such as IQ) and in adaptive skills (such as in recreation, work, independent living, self-direction, or self-care). However, persons whose functional limitations are based solely on a physical, behavioral, or emotional disability, or a specific learning or sensory disability, are not eligible to participate as Special Olympics athletes.

One of Special Olympics' founding principles is that "Special Olympics must transcend all boundaries of race, gender, religion, national origin, geography, and political philosophy, and offer sports training and competition opportunities to all eligible persons with intellectual disabilities in accordance with uniform worldwide standards."