Fantastic news!!!!! Special Olympics GB outlines new concept for 2026 National Summer Games

Posted on October 11, 2025 by specialolympicssuffolk

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The Board of Trustees of Special Olympics Great Britain (GB) has approved plans to stage a newly structured National Summer Games in 2026, which could provide competition opportunities for around 1,700 children and adults with an intellectual disability.

Easy Read Version

Following extensive consultation with the Special Olympics GB network, the Athlete Leadership Team and National Sports Advisors, a hybrid concept has been approved for the event, consisting of:

– Multi-sport (four-five days) event held at a single cluster of venues/location, prioritising Special Olympics GB’s most popular participation sports:

* Athletics, Boccia, Football, Artistic Gymnastics, MATP, Swimming

– Single-sport (one-two day) national competitions, following the successful 2022 Summer Series of Sport model, hosted in different locations for:

* Remaining Tier 1 and selected Tier 2 sports, including: Badminton, Basketball, Bowls, Cycling,
Equestrian, Golf, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Tennis

* Competitions may be expanded versions of current national single-sport events

Special Olympics GB’s National Office team is now working with multiple venues, local stakeholders, and partners to identify the most appropriate location and dates for the multi-sport event.

“The National Summer Games has been an important topic of interest among our membership since our return to competition in 2022, following the pandemic,” said Laura Baxter MBE, Chief Executive of Special Olympics GB. “We recognise the passion of our membership for this event so we undertook an extensive consultation process, which the vast majority of accredited clubs engaged with. We’ve listened hard to their feedback and ambitions for this event and are delighted to now have a concept to take forward.

“Not only does this hybrid approach provide competitive sporting opportunities for a significant number of our registered athletes, but it is also consistent with the financial sustainability of our movement.

“The world has changed a lot since our last major National Summer Games, in Sheffield in 2017, and it is imperative that we consider the increased cost of living and the reduced amount of external funding that we can access. Borrowing or taking financial risks on behalf of Special Olympics GB is not something we can consider.

However, we believe that this model can change the lives of many people with an intellectual disability, giving them an opportunity to meet fellow athletes from around the country, make new friends and be part of an event that celebrates their participation. It will also provide a pathway for our athletes to qualify for selection for the 2027 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Santiago, Chile.By Laura Baxter MBE

“We have already held very positive discussions with venues and potential partners regarding our primary multi-sport event. Discussions are also continuing with our National Sports Advisors, who have played an integral part in this process, regarding the additional single-sport competitions to be staged over the summer.”

Further details on the date and location of the 2026 National Summer Games will be confirmed in winter 2025/26. In the meantime, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Special Olympics Suffolk gymnasts bring home medals from Oslo, Norway

Posted on November 5, 2024 by specialolympicssuffolk

Our fabulous gymnasts from Waveney Gymnastics Club, Lowestoft brought a stash of medals back to the County from their recent travels to Oslo, Norway.

Funded partly by East Suffolk Council ‘Enabling Communities Budget’ but mostly self-funded by months of fundraising at the club, the gymnasts travelled to Oslo where they were hosted by the Norwegian Federation of Gymnasts. The standard was high as they competed against gymnasts representing 13 other countries. Months of hard work in training in the gym paid off and the gymnasts performed to very best and were cheered on and supported by family and friends, and volunteer Sandra and coaches Ellen and Alex.

The athletes journey was documented by using some of the digital equipment that was funded by East Suffolk Council and will be ready to view very soon – watch this space!

Huge congratulations to the gymnasts, coaches and supporters from all of us at Special Olympics Suffolk – you did us proud!

Gymnastics training camp and competition a huge success!

Posted on July 22, 2024 by specialolympicssuffolk

Waveney Gymnastics Club (WGC) hosted a magnificent three day gymnastics training camp and competition 19-21st July in Lowestoft. Head Coaches of WGC, Ellen and Alex spent many hours preparing for the event and their hard work paid off as the event was very well supported by over 50 gymnasts representing 13 gymnastics clubs from all over the UK.

Ellen and Alex are both National and International coaches and judges, and are no strangers to hosting big events and competitions, but they paid tribute to the judges who travelled long distances to officiate at the event, the coaches who travelled with their teams, the raft of volunteers, supporters and staff at WGC who gave up their time to make the day such a success.

Special Olympics Great Britain proudly supported the event, as did SO Suffolk.

Huge congratulations to all at Waveney Gymnastics Club for hosting such a successful competition, SO Suffolk thank you for your hard work and are proud of your endeavours.

Boccia tournament a huge success

Posted on March 5, 2024 by specialolympicssuffolk

Special Olympics Suffolk delivery partner, ActivLives, held another very successful Inclusive Boccia Tournament recently at Gainsborough Sports Centre, in Ipswich. The event attracted 40 competitors, who played a total of 85 ends of boccia, over 30 matches, scoring 185 points. There were over 70 people attending the event, during the course of the day.

“Boccia (pronounced ‘botcha’), is a sport that can be played by anyone”, said Mike McCarthy, from ActivLives. “It is a target game, played with balls, where all of the participants are required to sit down whilst they play. It is one of those sports that is relatively easy to play, but devilishly tricky to play well”. The sport is particularly suitable for players with a disability, and will be part of the Paralympic programme to be held later this year in Paris.

The tournament in Ipswich consisted of three divisions, where players competed in pairs, or teams of three, in a round-robin format. The day concluded with a ‘spider decider’ mass team event, with all 40 players involved.

“The atmosphere at this event has been absolutely brilliant, we will definitely be doing this again soon!”

Many thanks to all of the athletes, to our brilliant team of volunteers and also to our supporting partners Special Olympics Suffolk, Special Olympics GB, the Postcode Places Trust and the Together Fund.

If you would like to find out more about how to get involved with boccia in the Ipswich, Stowmarket or Felixstowe areas, please call ActivLives on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk