How to Start a Healthy Athletes Program Download Start a Special Olympics Healthy Athlete Program — Create a Legacy of Health Care (Adobe PDF publication, 653K) The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes initiative was developed because Special Olympics athletes cannot participate successfully in their sport unless they maintain good fitness and are in good health. There is evidence that persons with intellectual disabilities, including Special Olympics athletes, experience a wide array of health problems and, too frequently, fail to receive or are limited in their access to necessary health care and health education. In an effort to provide more health opportunities worldwide, better understanding and training for health professionals, and to increase access to health care for Special Olympics athletes, the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program was officially launched in 1996. After a decade of successful event-based health screenings and care, Special Olympics Healthy Athletes continues to expand rapidly around the globe. The basic information detailed in this publication will assist local Programs in starting their own Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program. Regional Contact Information Martin Wisor, North America mwisor@specialolympics.org Salma El Ghandour, Middle East-North Africa selghandour@specialolympics.org Kit Cheung, East Asia kcheung@specialolympics.org Dr. Rajeev Prasad, Asia Pacific rprasad@specialolympics.org Haryani Tambang, Asia Pacific htambang@specialolympics.org Dr. Gonzalo Larrabure, Latin America glarrabure@specialolympics.org Sabine Brecklinghaus, Europe-Eurasia sbrecklinghaus@specialolympics.org Annemarie van Wieringen, Africa avanwieringen@specialolympics.org Koffi Adjome, Africa kadjome@specialolympics.org