2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games

The 2017 Special Olympic World Winter Games officially called 11th Special Olympics World Winter Games is a Special Olympics, a multi-sports event that was held in Austria from March 14 through March 25, 2017.[1]

11th Special Olympics World Winter Games
Host cityGraz and Schladming, Austria
MottoHeartbeat For The World (German: Herzschlag für die Welt)
Nations participating113
Athletes participating2,277 (1,555 Male & 722 Female)
Events27 events (9 sports)
Opening ceremonyMarch 18
Closing ceremonyMarch 26
Officially opened byAlexander Van der Bellen
Summer
Winter

Overview

City of Graz which won the bidding and is holding the 11th Winter Special Olympic World Games

It was announced in 2012 that the host city for the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games would be Graz and Schladming in Styria, Austria.[2]

The opening and closing ceremonies were broadcast in the United States on ABC and ESPN. Most events were played live or re-aired on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNNEWS throughout the games.[3]

The games

Reception

With 113 nations participating all were invited to the Official Reception in Vienna after the teams arrived. At the Reception teams and nations could meet other athletes, take photos and talk to media from all over the world. This first Special Olympics World Games had ever done. The Reception took place on March 16, 2017 at the Vienna,Rathaus.

Arrivals

Teams being welcomed at Vienna Airport
(left) France being welcomed at Vienna International Airport by supporters (right) Canada supporters hold the Canadian flag while welcoming the Canadian team to Vienna.

Most athletes arrived at Vienna International Airport on March 14, 2017, and were given Special Austria 2017 necklaces and gear for their stay.

The teams from Ghana and Afghanistan were denied visas to travel to Austria to compete. The grounds for denial conveyed to the Ghana team were that Austria believed that the athletes would not return to Ghana after the competition. Tim Shriver, chairman of the board of Special Olympics International, said: "On paper, six athletes of more than 2,500 did not attend the 2017 World Games. But for those six, it is a nightmare."[4]

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was on March 18, 2017. The games were officially opened by Alexander Van der Bellen. Jason Mraz and Grace VanderWaal, with a choir of children from Schladming and Special Olympics global messengers, performed "I Won't Give Up." Helene Fischer performed "Fighter".[5]

Nations participating

  *   Host nation

China at the 2017 Special Olympics Reception in Vienna, Austria
Nations participating
Athletes[6]
CountryMaleFemaleTotalEvents
Africa
 Burkina Faso7310Floorball
 Ivory Coast12719Floorball
 Ghana10010Floorball
 Kenya12012Floor Hockey
 Namibia13720Floorball
 Nigeria20020Floorball, Floor Hockey
 South Africa18624Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating
 Uganda16016Floor Hockey
Asia Pacific
 Afghanistan224Snowshoeing
 Australia9312Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding
 Bangladesh151328Floor Hockey
Bharat454590Alpine Skiing, Floorball, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating,
Snowboarding, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Indonesia808Floorball
 Malaysia224Snowshoeing
 New Zealand10313Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding
 Pakistan6612Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
Serendib628Floorball
 Singapore13114Floorball, Speed Skating
East Asia
 China443276Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating
Snowshoeing
 Chinese Taipei261440Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Hong Kong311637Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
Nippon371754Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating,
Snowboarding, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 South Korea461965Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Snowboarding
 Macau5510Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Mongolia12214Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Snowshoeing
Europe
 Andorra415Alpine Skiing
 Armenia101Cross-Country Skiing
 Austria*23090320Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing, Stick Shooting
 Azerbaijan10010Floorball
 Belarus909Cross-Country Skiing
 Belgium151126Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing
 Bosnia and Herzegovina8816Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing
 Bulgaria448Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
 Croatia191029Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Cyprus16622Floorball, Floor Hockey
 Czech Republic211132Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Snowboarding
 Denmark10414Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Figure Skating
 Estonia12416Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball
 Finland25934Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing
 France161329Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
 North Macedonia101Alpine Skiing
 Georgia257Alpine Skiing, Figure Skating, Snowshoeing
 Germany482775Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing, Stick Shooting
 Gibraltar14115Alpine Skiing, Floorball, Snowshoeing
 United Kingdom91221Alpine Skiing, Figure Skating
Hellas12214Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
 Hungary231033Alpine Skiing, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Iceland224Figure Skating
 Ireland24226Alpine Skiing, Floorball
 Isle of Man9312Floorball, Snowshoeing
 Israel12214Floorball, Snowshoeing
 Italy211334Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing
 Kazakhstan141226Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing
 Kosovo112Alpine Skiing
 Kyrgyzstan213Alpine Skiing, Speed Skiing
 Latvia14620Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Snowshoeing
 Liechtenstein448Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing
 Lithuania25429Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Snowshoeing
 Luxembourg131124Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing, Stick Shooting
 Moldova202Speed Skating
 Monaco17623Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
 Montenegro426Alpine Skiing, Snowshoeing
 Netherlands151025Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowboarding, Speed Skating
 Norway231235Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Snowboard, Speed Skating
 Poland321446Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Romania9615Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Snowshoeing
 Russia502979Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 San Marino404Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
 Serbia10919Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing
 Slovakia10616Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating
 Slovenia10818Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
 Spain302252Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Snowshoeing
 Sweden301141Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Snowshoeing
  Switzerland381250Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Snowboarding
 Tajikistan448Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
 Turkmenistan213Figure Skating, Speed Skating
 Ukraine16218Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey
 Uzbekistan91019Alpine Skiing, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
Latin America
 Argentina11516Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floorball, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing
 Chile448Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding
 Costa Rica18220Floor Hockey, Snowshoeing
 Cuba12012Floor Hockey
 Dominican Republic224Snowshoeing
 Mexico29433Floorball, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating
 Uruguay090Floorball
 Venezuela16622Floorball, Floor Hockey, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
Middle East
 Algeria16016Floor Hockey
 Brunei224Snowshoeing
 Egypt18220Floor Hockey, Snowshoeing
 Iran11011Floor Hockey
 Iraq224Snowshoeing
 Jordan448Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Lebanon549Cross-Country Skiing, Snowshoeing
 Libya202Snowshoeing
 Morocco16218Floor Hockey, Snowshoeing
 Oman224Snowshoeing
 Palestine202Snowshoeing
 Qatar505Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Saudi Arabia606Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Syria426Cross-Country Skiing, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Tunisia16218Floor Hockey, Snowshoeing
 United Arab Emirates20323Floor Hockey, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
North America
 Canada6840108Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
 Jamaica18018Floor Hockey, Speed Skating
 Saint Lucia12416Floor Hockey
 Trinidad and Tobago10616Floor Hockey
 United States8257139Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Floor Hockey, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, Speed Skating, Snowshoeing
1,5557222,277

Events

The following events are taking place at Austria 2017:[7]

Calendar

OCOpening ceremony Event competitions 1Gold medals EGExhibition gala CCClosing ceremony
March 18
Sat
19
Sun
20
Mon
21
Tue
22
Wed
23
Thu
24
Fri
25
Sat
Gold medals
CeremoniesOCCC
Alpine skiing
Cross-Country Skiing
Figure skating
Floorball
Floor hockey
Short Track Speed Skating
Snowboarding
Snowshoeing
March 18
Sat
19
Sun
20
Mon
21
Tue
22
Wed
23
Thu
24
Fr
25
Sat
Gold medals

Broadcasting

The 2017 World Games will be broadcasting on the following broadcasters in the following country:[8]

References

  1. "World Games Overview". Special Olympics. 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
  2. "Special Olympics World Games came to a close Sunday with the traditional extinguishing of..." LATimes. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  3. "Special Olympics World Games TV schedule". ESPN.com. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  4. "Ghana, Afghanistan denied visas to enter Austria for 2017 Games". ESPN.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  5. "Helene Fischer stellte bei den Special Olympics in Schladming ihren neuen Song "Fighter" vor". schlagerplametnet.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  6. "Austria 2017 World Games". Austria2017. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  7. Sports & Games. Special Olympics official website. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  8. "2017 World Winter Games Coverage". specialolympics.org. 2017. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
Preceded by
Pyeongchang, South Korea
Special Olympics World Winter Games Succeeded by
Kazan
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