Unique book on History of Special Olympics GB available now

Author, Dr. Susan Barton with Special Olympics Athletes and Leicester Games' Mascot Solly the lion at the book's launch event

To commemorate Leicester becoming the first city in Britain to host the National Summer Games of Special Olympics Great Britain twice (1989 and 2009), Leicester City Council, Special Olympics GB and the city’s two universities have collaborated in the production of a unique book about the history of the charity and its Games entitled A Sporting Chance: The History of Special Olympics Great Britain.

This recently published book is the first fully authoritative published history of the charity, its 92 pages is a full-colour record, crammed with photographs and remarkable facts, covering the development of Special Olympics in Britain since 1978.

The book is now available for £10 from libraries and selected retailers in Leicester, or from De Montfort University. During the 2009 Special Olympics GB National Summer Games week (25th -31st July) the book will be sold in the Games Village for a special promotional price of £5.

Special Olympic GB’s Chief Executive Officer, Karen Wallin, said: “This book is a milestone for the organisation and represents the starting point of a wider research project, which will look carefully at the Games legacy and it will help to demonstrate the impact that the Special Olympics GB programme has, not just in our learning disabled athletes, but also in their families and the wider community around them.”

The book tells an extraordinary story of the way sport can offer opportunities for personal development and ways of increasing aspiration and changing attitudes towards people with learning disabilities.

Read more:
A Sporting Chance: The History of Special Olympics Great Britain