Figure Skating Special Olympics figure skating is an internationally popular event that was first included in the 1977 Winter Games.
Competition is offered for men and women in the singles, pairs and ice dancing events.
Additionally, Special Olympics offers Unified Sports events which pairs an athlete with mental retardation and a partner athlete without mental retardation as a team and they compete in the pairs and ice dancing events. Unified Sports' promotes inclusion and teamwork in a competitive sports event. As in all Special Olympics sports, athletes are grouped in divisions according to the athletes' ability level, age and gender. Special Olympics is unique in that it has a complete badge program to allow for a consistent progression of learning, and a reward system to encourage the skater. The program is based upon the United States Figure Skating Association Badge Program.