Advanced Competitions

Special Olympics USA Games are held every four years and typically offer competition in all summer sports. Winter sports are not offered at USA Games. The USA Games began in 2006. The next USA Games will be held in 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For USA Games, Iowa supports its own delegation and selects all athletes and coaches.

USA Games Information Meeting Powerpoint – 9.17.2024

Meet Team Special Olympics Iowa
Special Olympics Iowa will be sending a delegation of 75 athletes, Unified partners, coaches, and staff to the 2026 USA Games being held June 20-26, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Special Olympics Iowa has been allotted athlete spots in track & field, swimming, bocce, bowling, tennis, pickleball, powerlifting, basketball, and volleyball.
Applications will be available April 1, 2025 and are due by June 6, 2025.

2026 Special Olympics USA Games Minnesota Website

Special Olympics World Games are held in summer and winter, alternating every two years. The next World Winter Games will be held in 2025 in Turin, Italy, and the next World Games will be held in 2027 in Santiago, Chile. For World Games, Iowa is part of the larger USA delegation and only selects athletes to represent the state. Coaches are selected through an application process managed by the USA Management Team.

Special Olympics World Games Chile 2027

Regardless of the level of competition, the timelines and selection process is fairly standard. It does involve many steps and different levels of the Special Olympics organization; however, below are the general timelines for higher levels of competition.

Two Years in Advance

Host location determines sports and the number of athletes it can host in each sport. Countries and/or states then request quota based on various factors including participation levels in available sports, when sports were last represented at a higher level of competition and financial resources to support their quota request.

One to Two Years in Advance

Countries or states are notified what their quota allocation will be, including sports, number of athletes, gender and sometimes an ability level within the sport.

State programs then select who will represent them. For athletes to be eligible for higher-level competition, typically they must train and compete in a sport in which we received quota and earn a gold medal in the qualifying event. Typically, the qualifying event is the state competition one year prior to the USA or World Games, although sometimes registration deadlines may change this.

Athletes who are eligible to apply to a higher level of competition will be notified of the opportunity and process through their Head of Delegation. There will be application forms and deadlines which must be completed and met. Once the deadline passes, the Special Olympics Iowa staff will follow up with all applicants.

Final selection is done through a random draw in each sport from all athletes who applied and met the necessary qualifications outlined in the application process.

Year Leading into Games

Athletes commit to a training program outlined by their higher-level coach. Athletes must train locally in the applicable sport and attend the state-level competition for which they have been drawn.