Special Olympics USA
Special Olympics USA Games is an event held once every four years in the United States, offering athletes from across the nation to compete in summer sports, including many of the 32 Olympic-type sports Special Olympics recognizes globally. Special Olympics is a sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in the United States. It is part of the global Special Olympics movement. Special Olympics was founded in 1968 with the main goal to accept and welcome individuals as they are. Special Olympics provides year-round training in Olympic based sports and is based in  192 countries. Special Olympics USA Games. The Special Olympics USA Games is a national Special Olympics event held every four years in the United States. 2006 Special Olympics USA Games. The first, quadrennial, USA National Games were held July 1–8, 2006, in Ames, Iowa. The city of Ames and Iowa State University hosted over 3,000 athletes from all 50 states in 13 sports, including aquatics, basketball, bocce, bowling, golf, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Over 8,000 volunteers were needed to make this event run smoothly. Actor Tom Arnold, originally from Iowa, was  the Master of Ceremonies for the Opening Ceremonies, and several other celebrities were at the event as well, including NFL quarterback Kurt Warner and actor Brandon Routh, both also Iowans. 2010 Special Olympics USA Games. Lincoln, Nebraska hosted the Games, July 18–23. 2014 Special Olympics USA Games. The 2014 Special Olympics USA Games were held from June 14–21 in New Jersey. The Opening Ceremony was held at Prudential Center in Newark. Competition was held at venues throughout Mercer County including The College of New Jersey in the Trenton suburb of Ewing, Rider University, Princeton University and Mercer County Park. The  budget for the event exceeded $15M. The Games Founding Partners included 21st Century Fox, Barnabas Health, HESS, KPMG, NJSEA, Prudential, PSE&G, ShopRite, Toys"R"Us and WWE. Baseball was introduced as a sport at the USA Games for the first time, with four teams – from Alabama, Delaware, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. The gold– and bronze–medal games were played in Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton. The triathlon was held for the first time. 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games were held in Seattle, Washington from July 1–6, 2018. The USA Games featured more than 4,000  athletes competing in 14 different sports. The Opening Ceremony took place on July 1 at Husky Stadium and included a 2,000-person choir and musical performances from Ann Wilson and Charlie Puth. The sporting events were held primarily on the University of Washington campus and in various venues around the region. 2022 Special Olympics USA Games. The 2022 Special Olympics USA Games will be held in Orlando, Florida June 5-11, 2022.