The 2017 Special Olympic World Winter Games (German: 2017 Special Olympics World Winterspiele) 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]
 | |
| Host city | Graz and Schladming, Austria  |
|---|---|
| Motto | Heartbeat For The World (German: Herzschlag für die Welt) |
| Nations | 113 |
| Athletes | 2,277 (1,555 Male & 722 Female) |
| Events | 27 events (9 sports) |
| Opening | March 18 |
| Closing | March 26 |
| Opened by | Alexander Van der Bellen |
| Summer | |
| Winter | |
Overview
edit
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
editReception
editWith 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 was the Special Olympics World Games first time that this event was held. The Reception took place on March 16, 2017, at the Vienna, Rathaus.
Arrivals
edit
Most athletes arrived at Vienna International Airport on March 14, 2017, and were given Special Austria 2017 necklaces and gear for their stay.
The Austrian government denied the visas for teams from Ghana and Afghanistan, keeping them from competing. 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
editThe 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
edit* Host nation
.svg){kind=small}
Events
editThe following events took place at Austria 2017:[7]
Alpine skiing ()
Cross-country skiing ()
Floorball ()
Floor hockey ()
Figure skating ()
Snowboarding ()
Speed skating ()
Snowshoeing ()- Stick shooting ()
Calendar
edit| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Gold medals | EG | Exhibition gala | CC | Closing ceremony |
| March | 18 Sat |
19 Sun |
20 Mon |
21 Tue |
22 Wed |
23 Thu |
24 Fri |
25 Sat |
Gold medals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ceremonies |
OC | CC | |||||||
| 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
editThe 2017 World Games was broadcast on the following broadcasters in the following country:[8]
Austria – ORF
Brazil – ESPN Brasil
Canada – TSN2, Sportsnet
New Zealand – Sky Television
United Kingdom – BBC
United States – ESPN, ESPN2, ABC
India – ESPN
References
edit- ^ "World Games Overview". Special Olympics. 2012-07-17. Archived from the original on 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2013-02-07.
- ^ "Special Olympics World Games came to a close Sunday with the traditional extinguishing of..." LATimes. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ "Special Olympics World Games TV schedule". ESPN.com. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ "Ghana, Afghanistan denied visas to enter Austria for 2017 Games". ESPN.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ "Helene Fischer stellte bei den Special Olympics in Schladming ihren neuen Song "Fighter" vor". schlagerplametnet.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Austria 2017 World Games". Austria2017. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ Sports & Games. Special Olympics official website. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ^ "2017 World Winter Games Coverage". specialolympics.org. 2017. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
External links
edit
