Minister Giersz welcomes the participants of the Special Olympics European Summer Games (SOESG)
On September 18th, 2010, Minister of Sport and Tourism Adam Giersz took part in the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics European Summer Games (SOESG). The Flame of Hope, carried from Aleksandropolis, was lit at the Legia Warsaw stadium, with more than twenty thousand spectators on the stands. The Mayor of the Capital City Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, opened the European Summer Special Olympics Games.
Among those who carried the Special Olympics Flag onto the Legia pitch was Irena Szewińska, the world track and field legend and member of the International Olympic Committee, and Maja Włoszczowska, the world champion in mountain biking.
The words of the touching Special Olympic Oath: Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in my attempt, taken since the first Special Olympics Games, were recited by Rafał Mróz on behalf of Polish athletes, and by an Irish badminton player on behalf of foreign athletes.
The President of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski emphasized in his speech that this is a very special event in which everyone is a winner.
The public gave a several minute’s long standing ovation to the national team entering the stadium pitch, led by Poland’s three First Ladies: Anna Komorowska, Jolanta Kwaśniewska and Danuta Wałęsa.
The 5th Special Olympics European Summer Games are the largest sports event in Poland this year. During six days of competition (September 18th-23rd), about 1500 mentally disabled athletes, representatives of 57 National Special Olympics Programmes, will compete at six venues in Warsaw. About a thousand family members and friends of the athletes, 600 coaches, 200 referees/umpires and 250 doctors and trainers have come to Warsaw, not to mention about 2 000 volunteers.
Among those who participated in the opening ceremony were Special Olympics President Timothy P. Shriver, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia CEO Mary Davis, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and the famous Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff.
The athletes will compete in nine sports:
- track and field
- bowling
- 7-player women’s handball
- unified basketball (teams comprising both able and disabled players)
- powerlifting
- roller skating
- badminton
- tennis
- table tennis