The Special Olympics national winter games were ceremoniously opened in Oberhof. 3,000 people attended the festive event on the town square of the Thuringian winter sports resort.
A total of 900 athletes with mental and multiple disabilities will compete in the ten sports of figure skating, floorball, climbing, snowshoeing, short track, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, stock sports and dancing until February 2nd and fight for a ticket to the Winter World Games next year in Turin. There are also 330 carers and 500 volunteers.
“I am pleased that Thuringia, with its excellent conditions and state-of-the-art sports facilities, can now host the Special Olympics for the third time after the competitions in 1999 and 2007,” said Helmut Holter (Die Linke), Thuringian Minister for Youth, Education and Sport, at the start of the games.
Christiane Krajewski, President of Special Olympics Germany (SOD), was pleased that “after the World Games in Berlin, we can set the next example for an open and inclusive society here in Thuringia. Lighthouses like the National Games are an ideal starting point for to promote more inclusion and create encounters.”
Olympic rituals as highlights of the opening ceremony
The Olympic rituals were several highlights of the opening ceremony. The athletes Tatjana Raible, Jessika Maul and Luisa Brauswetter lit the Special Olympics flame, the Special Olympics flag was hoisted and the Bavarian athlete spokesman and alpine skiing athlete Florian Eichhammer spoke the athlete’s oath: “I want to win, but if I can’t win, so be it I want to courageously give my best.”
At the end of the games there will be another highlight away from the competitions on February 2nd. 60 figure skaters with and without disabilities will perform a revue in the Erfurt Ice Sports Center (6.30 p.m./ARD and Sky via live stream), which 500 spectators can attend free of charge. Eleven media outlets will report on the competitions before and during the games.