How are Special Olympics athletes grouped for competition?
The key to a successful experience for Special Olympics athletes lies in providing each athlete with a reasonable chance to win. This is done by “divisioning,” a feature which make Special Olympics unique among sports organizations. Athletes are divided into competition division based on gender, ability and age. A competition division will ideally consist of a minimum of three athletes and can have no more than eight athletes. Special Olympics suggests that the variance between the highest and lowest scores within the division should not differ by more than 15%. This 15% statement is not a rule, but should be used as a guideline for establishing equitable divisions when the number of athletes competing is appropriate. Each division is considered a unique sport heat with awards being given based upon the results of each individual heat.
