100 international delegations, representing the diversity and global footprint of the Special Olympics movement, will descend on Turin, Italy this week for the official opening of the Turin Games.
These are the first Special Olympics Winter Games to be successfully staged since 2017, and excitement is high amongst the 1,500 athletes competing in eight different sports in venues across Turin, and the Piedmont region.
In a first for the Special Olympics movement, a team of four athletes with intellectual disabilities from Special Olympics Russia will participate at the Turin Games as neutral athletes.
These athletes will be supported by a team of four coaches. All eight will be members of a Special Olympics Independent Athletes delegation (SOIA). Independent Athletes will compete in two sports as individual athletes: DanceSport and snowshoeing.
“Special Olympics creates a welcoming space for everyone. Including athletes in the SOIA delegation is a statement that sport has the power to unify people. Turin 2025 is our biggest opportunity to show the world what is possible when you choose to include,” said Lou Lauria, Chief, Sport and Competition, Special Olympics.
From 8 to 15 March 2025, Turin, Italy, will host the Winter Games and demonstrate the extraordinary power of sport to end marginalization and build inclusion and solidarity for people with intellectual disabilities, and society at large.
Turin 2025 will bring together approximately 1,500 athletes from 100 nations, competing across eight winter sports: alpine skiing, cross country skiing, DanceSport, figure skating, floorball, short track speed skating, snowboarding and snowshoeing.
Some 1,000 coaches and delegations’ officials will support the delegations in their competition efforts, while an estimated 2,000 volunteers will ensure the smooth running of the Turin Games.
In a significant step towards gender equity at Special Olympics games, 45.61% of athletes and Unified Partners (playing partners without intellectual disabilities), are female, up from 32% at the World Winter Games 2017, which were held in Austria.
In terms of the geographic breakdown of delegations, the largest contingent of delegations’ hail from the Special Olympics Europe Eurasia region, with 51 national programs sending delegations to compete at the Turin Games.
In addition, 18 delegations will travel from the Special Olympics Middle East North Africa region to compete, whilst nine delegations are making the trip from the Special Olympics Asia Pacific region.
From Africa region, there are five delegations headed to Turin for competition, whilst Special Olympics East Asia and Special Olympics Latin America both have six delegations in competition action. Finally, four delegations will travel to the Turin Games from Special Olympics North America region. Completing the list is the Special Olympics Independent Athletes delegation.
One of the key sporting highlights to feature at Turin 2025 is the debut of DanceSport, a high-energy indoor event that combines elements of dance and athletic competition and, along with floorball, offers a pathway for athletes hailing from countries with no winter sport to compete at Winter Games
In another first, Snowboarders will compete at the Parallel Giant Slalom event for the first time at a World Winter Games. There will also be a highly anticipated Motor Activities Training Program (MATP) exhibition of adaptive skiing on Monday, March 8, on the ski slopes of Bardonecchia and a dedicated MATP exhibition at the Pala Asti venue in Turin on Tuesday, March 9. MATP is Special Olympics’ movement-based sport programme for athletes with profound intellectual disabilities and high support needs.
Meanwhile, 200 school children with and without intellectual disabilities will take part in a unique demonstration of the Special Olympics Young Athletes program, a sport and play program for children with and without intellectual disabilities, ages two to seven years old. They will be joined virtually by an additional 2,000 young athletes from across Italy for this unique session.
The Turin Games will officially open at a ceremony at the Inalpi Arena, Turin, on Saturday, March 8 and run until Saturday, March 15. Grammy nominated singer and song writer, Aloe Blacc, will deliver the headline musical performance at the opening ceremony.
