Special Olympics North Carolina

Special Olympics North Carolina, Inc. (the organization or sonc) is a nonprofit corporation authorized and accredited by Special Olympics, incorporated (soi). The organization was established in 1971 to improve the physical, social, and psychological development of citizens with intellectual disabilities through successful experiences in sports training, health programs and competitions. Based on information collected for the Special Olympics 2023 global athlete census, sonc involved 34,387 athletes and unified partners (those without intellectual disabilities) throughout North Carolina in 20 sports with 526 events supported by 2,326 certified coaches. Special Olympics unified champion schools resulted in activities for 17,984 students in 581 schools throughout the state. In our work to improve the health of Special Olympics athletes, 13,182 participants were involved in partner up power up, a multi-week health education and fitness program done at home or in the classroom.

In a typical year, Special Olympics relies on the energy, expertise, and commitment of over 43,000 volunteers each year to carry out year-round sports training, competition, and health/wellness opportunities for nearly 40,000 registered athletes. Special Olympics recruits volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, and availability to serve roles that include event planning, athlete outreach, coordination of logistics, sport development team members, recruitment of other volunteers, unified champion schools, health initiatives, and much more. Volunteer coaches are essential to providing quality experiences for participating athletes, and through the Special Olympics North Carolina coaches' certification process these volunteers are trained to meet the unique needs of people with intellectual disabilities.

The 2023 year was one of 95% reengagement for Special Olympics North Carolina in terms of the implementation of the Special Olympics mission because of the covid-19 pandemic that began in North Carolina in march 2020. A few local programs (county) spring games were not held in 2023 simply due to volunteer leadership changes. In-person trainings and competition events returned to the level of 2019 participation. Some aspects of virtual options continue with schools because of the popularity of having online sessions conducted for the benefit of students throughout the state. Several out-of-state sports events had sonc athletes competing in events featuring softball, golf, powerlifting, and bowling to name a few.