40th anniversary Special Olympics Georiga Indoor Games

By Rose Scott

Atlanta, GA – Later on today, the Special Olympics Indoor Games will kick off.

Athletes from all over Georgia will compete in 23 different sports including basketball, power lifting and bowling.

WABE's Rose Scott reports it's also the 40th anniversary of event:

In the first Special Olympics of Georgia -just about 5-hundred athletes were involved.

That was in 1970.

Now that number has grown to more than 22-thousand.

Despite intellectual disabilities, these athletes are competitors and they train just as hard.

Georgia Milton-Sheats is the CEO of Special Olympics Georgia:

((anyone can come from 8 years old and up I know we have some in their 70s))

Sheats says it also takes a special kind of coach to work with the athletes:

((they are 1-hundred percent volunteer they are also friends to the athletes, they encourage discipline and it gives the athletes a sense of independence))

Team sports will begin this afternoon and opening ceremonies are tonight at Cobb Civic Center.

Every athlete will receive either a medal or ribbon.