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“Fun Games- 2008”

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Dehradun, 14 November 2008. “Fun Games – 2008” would be organized on 16th Nov 2008, at the Welham Boys’ School, Dehradun. This would be the first time that such an inclusive games event would be organized in India. This event is supported by Special Olympics Bharat- Uttarakhand. This event will have participation from 80 students from 10 different schools in Dehradun. Students would mutually participate with 40 athletes from Special Olympics Bharat- Uttarakhand.

We are expecting more than 200 spectators to join us on the event. “Fun Games-2008 would be a replica modal of the Duke Fuqua MBA games, organized by the MBA Students of the Duke University to Support Special Olympics North Carolina. This is a big fund raising event in North Carolina. Student’s not only different colleges in USA participate but it also attracts some colleges from Canada. Earlier in April the students had organized this game and had contributed more than 120,000 USD towards the support of Special Olympics North Carolina.
The games events include – Basketball (skill level), Football (Skill level), 400 M relay, Tug of war. Attached to this event a research work is also done. Before participation in the games all participated had filled up a pre- participation questionnaire and after the event completion a similar kind of questionnaire would be filled up by the participants and the Volunteers, which would help to understand the need behind Volunteering, information about the Intellectual Disability/M.R in the population of Dehradun and will similar kind of event help in promoting inclusion towards the 31 million population on Intellectual Disabled person in India. The research would be published in the mid December 2008.
The chief guest Mr. Ashok Kumar, IPS, Inspector General of Police, Garhwal Range, Uttarakhand, would be arriving at 10 am for the opening ceremony. 60 Volunteers have committed to support “Fun Games”. The volunteers have come through various parts of Dehradun, for their dedicated efforts to support the Special Olympics. Participating students have been provided information on the needs of our athletes with Intellectual Disability and the games planning. Welham Boy’s will have colorful play ground on 16th Nov as all the participants have been provided different colored T Shirts ( White- Volunteers, Base color- Students, dark blue- athletes, Red- Medical Volunteers and Yellow- Games Management Team members.) We also have some T Shirts, some bags, Special Olympics pins for fund raising.


About Special Olympics International
Special Olympics International is a worldwide non-profit organization for benefiting the intellectually disabled through the medium of sports. The organization was founded by Mrs. Eunice Shriver, sister of former USA President (late) John F Kennedy. The Special Olympics program is officially recognized by the International Olympics Committee and is operative in over 170 countries.
The Special Olympics Mission
· To provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with Intellectual Disability, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families and other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
· All Special Olympics activities - at the local, state, national and international levels - reflect the values, standards, ceremonies and events of the Olympic movement.
· To the greatest extent possible, Special Olympics activities are run by local volunteers, in order to create greater opportunities for public understanding of those persons with Intellectual Disability.
About Special Olympics Bharat
Special Olympics Bharat is the national accredited programme of Special Olympics International, meeting its high accreditation standards.
Special Olympics Bharat is the National Sports Federation (NGO) in India recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt of India, as the Sports Federation for the Intellectually Disabled.
In India, the programme has so far drawn over 23000 coaches to work with over 550,000 athletes across 32 State Programs. India being designated a Priority Nation by Special Olympics International, the goal is to extend the Special Olympics programme throughout the country and reach over 1,000,000 people with Intellectual Disability by end 2012.
About Special Olympics Bharat – Uttarakhand







About Dr. Nalin Kumar (PT.)
Dr. Nalin Kumar had recently been selected for Eunice Kennedy Shriver (EKS) Fellow, by the Special Olympics International, USA. The EKS Fellowship aims to provide leaders in the Special Olympics movement across every corner of the planet. As a fellow he had been provided intensive training on Leadership, Development and Communications, Government Affairs, Research and my interest in the grassroots level work. Some other areas of my training include Fund raising, Sponsorship, Event Management, Administration and Physiotherapy. Have done a certification from the APTA (American Physical Therapy Association for the treatment of Low Backache. Each fellow was placed with a host Special Olympics program. It was my privilege to be placed with Special Olympics North Carolina. Kelly Vaughn, senior vice president of Special Olympics North Carolina was my mentor. She always guided me on how does the SONC the 7th largest program in the world (with over 68,000 registered athletes) working at the grass root level. Special Olympics is a volunteer based organization providing year around sports training to children and adults with Intellectual Disability to children and adults with Intellectual Disability across 18o countries around the world. Athletes are not charged any participation while participating in any Special Olympics program.
Contact:
Dr. Nalin Kumar (PT.)
Fun Games Project Manager, Dehradun
+91-9760405114
physionalin1@indiatimes.com