Saudi Arabia will participate in the 2019 Special Olympics World Games scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on March 14-21 with an 84-strong delegation, including athletes, coaches, Saudi Special Olympics officials and doctors. More than 200 Saudi volunteers will join volunteers from around the world to support the teams' participation in the Games. The seven-day competition in Abu Dhabi will see 7,000 athletes from 192 countries competing in 24 sports. In this interview, Dr. Heidi Alaudeen Alaskary, managing director for diversity and inclusion and partnerships at General Sports Authority, who is also assistant to the head of the Saudi delegation to the Abu Dhabi Games, highlights the role of Saudi Arabia's Special Olympics Federation in identifying and encouraging the athletic capability of all members of Saudi society, providing a platform of enablement and support for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Excerpts: What is the Saudi Arabia Special Olympics Federation? We formed the Special Olympics Saudi Arabia Federation (SOSAF) to help unleash the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports. SOSAF will use sports, health education and community building as tools toward increasing activity, equity and social inclusion. The goal is to encourage and empower people with intellectual disabilities to be active, independent and productive. SOSAF aims to bring to light the fact that sport has the power to bring communities together and to uplift every member of society, as well as to contribute to the economy for the benefit of everyone within the Kingdom. Why did the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) decide it was the right time to establish this new federation? The Kingdom is experiencing positive transformation, and we want to generate conversation around the role people with intellectual disabilities play in the development of the country. For a long time, the global dialogue — not just in Saudi Arabia — has revolved around athletes competing in the Olympic Games, FIFA, NBA and other well-known sports leagues, while glossing over the involvement of athletes with intellectual disabilities specifically and persons with disabilities in general. The formation of SOSAF provides a platform of enablement and support for athletes with intellectual disabilities in the Kingdom, empowering them to compete on an international level and to represent their country with pride. The time is particularly right because Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 is just around the corner, taking place from March 14-21 in the UAE. This year will see the largest delegation from Saudi Arabia to the World Games, with the inclusion of women athletes for the first time. It is an exciting time, and I personally hope that we can start conversations, inspire the country, and raise awareness of the potential our talented Special Olympics athletes have. What makes Saudi Arabia's participation at Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 important? The World Games provides us with a platform to spark dialogue and to raise awareness of the fact that the athletes representing Saudi Arabia are just like everyone else in our society. They have talents and abilities, and they can contribute to the growth and greatness of our Kingdom. This applies to more than sport; a number of the athletes on the Saudi team have jobs and contribute to our economy. Our team comprises sales executives, coaching assistants, certified personal coaches, workers with charitable organizations, and more. Abdullah, who is representing Saudi Arabia in basketball and table tennis at the upcoming World Games, works with the Saudi Transport Ministry. Mamdoh, also part of our basketball team, works as a sales executive. Triathlon athlete Mazen hopes to use his experiences to coach others in sport in the future, and Haneen, who plays on our Special Olympics girls' basketball team, is a coaching assistant at the Jeddah Help Center — and that is just mentioning a handful of our athletes' current careers or future hopes. Our participation in Special Olympics is about more than giving athletes with intellectual disabilities a platform to compete and to represent their country with pride. It is about breaking down existing barriers to create an equitable society in which every individual has the opportunity to participate. It is about changing perceptions to provide access to opportunity for everyone. Who will represent Saudi Arabia at the World Games 2019? This year will see the largest delegation from Saudi Arabia travelling to the Special Olympics. We have 50 athletes representing the Kingdom at the World Games, including a mix of students and professionals of different ages and backgrounds. They demonstrate that through a variety of individuals, team Saudi Arabia gains its strength. At the World Games, Saudi athletes will participate in 10 different events, including basketball, bocce, athletics, powerlifting, roller skating, swimming, triathlon, table tennis, bowling, and unified sports. The year 2019 is the first time Saudi women will participate in Special Olympics. Almost half of our team members are women, and they are exceptionally proud to be the first to compete for Saudi Arabia. Our team of athletes will be accompanied by a delegation of 36 members, including representatives from SOSAF, doctors and coaches. Volunteers from Saudi Arabia will also go to the World Games to work alongside other volunteers from around the world to assist in the delivery of the health programs, support all participating teams and to help with the delivery of the Games. here are 50 Saudi athletes participating in World Games 2019. What can you tell us about them? Special Olympics is for athletes with intellectual disabilities. There are nearly 200 million people in the world with intellectual disabilities, and the upcoming World Games will see more than 7,500 athletes participating from 190 countries. From Saudi Arabia, we have a team comprising 21 female athletes and 29 male athletes. They come from all over the Kingdom, from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Abha, Ahsa, Jouf. ... Each athlete was chosen for their abilities in their specialist events. Some have won medals at previous international competitions, and for some this will be their first time to compete. What they all have in common is the spirit to succeed, and to prove that they are an athlete for the country to be proud of, just the same as anyone else who represents the Kingdom in international sports. Take, for example, Sara Felemban. She has won numerous medals in sporting events in Saudi Arabia and internationally. At the World Games 2019, Sara will compete in bocce, but she is also a track athlete, a swimmer, amongst the top people in her class, and described by her friends as a star performer, no matter what she's doing. Maan is another example of the dedication our athletes demonstrate. This 25-year old basketball athlete won a gold medal at the Special Olympics IX MENA Games 2018, and has also won numerous first place prizes in sports such as bocce and swimming. At the age of six months he was diagnosed with a heart condition and given a life expectancy of just 12 months — and today he is representing our country on the international sports stage. How do you want our country to feel about Special Olympics as a movement and the Saudi athletes participating at the World Games 2019? I hope that that our country feels the same way I feel every time I interact with our Special Olympics athletes — inspired and proud. Their passion and their patriotic desire to put their best efforts forward for Saudi Arabia fills me with pride. Every single athlete on our team will tell you the same thing — they are so proud to represent Saudi Arabia, and they want to win for their country. The Special Olympics' motto is "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt". Our athletes are talented and brave, and whether they win or not, they are on the verge of embarking upon a life-changing journey that I genuinely hope will inspire them to reach for their dreams, while inspiring our community to challenge their perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities. — SG Our participation in Special Olympics is about more than giving athletes with intellectual disabilities a platform to compete and to represent their country with pride. It is about breaking down existing barriers to create an equitable society in which every individual has the opportunity to participate.
