Divisioning

One area that makes Special Olympics unique is our divisioning process. Each athlete has an opportunity to win a gold medal. Each division within a given event is structured so that every athlete or team has a reasonable chance to be successful during competition. By placing athletes and teams in divisions according to accurate records of their previous or on-site performance, and where relevant, by grouping athletes and teams by age and gender, all athletes will have a reasonable chance to excel.

SONH aims for no more than a 25% variance between the highest and lowest scores within any

division.

Factors that determine division (in order):

• Category (if used)
• Gender (if used)
• Age (if used)
• Minimum of 3 participants
• Ability
• Maximum of 8 participants

SONH has determined that in 2025 events will be divisioned using the following guidelines:

• By ability only if there are less than 100 participants.
• By gender and ability if there are between 101 and 200.
• By age, gender and ability if there are more than 200 participants.

Our goal is quality competition. If changes must be made to any of the criteria listed above to make quality competition, we may do so.

Age Groups

The following age groups shall be used for Special Olympics competitions:

• Individual Events:
  • Ages 8-11
  • Ages 12-15
  • Ages 16-21
  • Ages 22-29
  • Ages 30 and over
• Team Events: (e.g. relays, team sports, doubles)
  • Ages 15 and under
  • Ages 16-21
  • Ages 22 and over

An athlete’s age group shall be determined by the athlete’s age on the opening date of the

competition.

Age groups may also be combined to reduce the variance between the highest and lowest scores within a division.

Additional age groups may be established if there are a sufficient number of competitors in the “and over” age group.

Team events will be divisioned using the age of the oldest team member unless otherwise specified in the sports rules. If a team is mixed gender, they will be divisioned as “male”.