Twelve athletes from Special Olympics Malta, supported by the Vodafone Malta Foundation, are attending their final training sessions before travelling to Warsaw, Poland to represent Malta in the 2010 Special Olympics European Games taking place from September 18 to 24. Athletes from Special Olympics Malta will compete in Bowling and Athletics.

Warsaw will welcome a total of 1,600 athletes from 58 countries across Europe and Central Asia who will compete in a total of nine sports. This is the first time the European Games are being hosted in Poland and the first time from the Middle and Eastern European region to host such a major game meeting.

Director of Special Olympics Malta Anna Calleja spoke about the teams’ preparation. “Our athletes are very excited to travel to Warsaw and to represent their country.

They have been training really hard and are looking forward to winning new medals and making new friends. The European Games are a wonderful opportunity to showcase the Special Olympics Movement and to celebrate the abilities and accomplishments of people with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Malta thanked the Vodafone Malta Foundation and other supporters for making the athletes’ dreams a reality.”

The theme of the Games is “Together Now” as celebrities, sports leaders and dignitaries join together to support the movement and promote through sport a better world where every person regardless of their ability or disability is valued in a world of inclusion and mutual respect, without bias or prejudice.

Six hundred coaches, 2,000 voluntaries, 200 officials, 250 medicals staff and 1,540 family members are also expected to support the athletes during the competition. The 2010 European Games will officially begin when the cauldron is lit on 18 September at the opening ceremony in Legia Staduim, Warsaw by the “Flame of Hope” which will have been carried by European Police Officers from Greece across eight European countries before arriving in Warsaw.

Special Olympics Malta thanked the Minister of Education Ms Dolores Christina and Parliament Secretary for Sport Clyde Puli, as well as the Maltese Council for Sport (KMS) for their support. More information about the 2010 Special Olympics European Games can be found at www.specialolympics.org.

To join or help Special Olympics Malta one should contact Ms. Desiree Bone on 99543210.