2009 Winter Games Host Finalists Named

2009 Winter Games Host Finalists Named:

"Special Olympics has announced the finalist bid cities to host the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The four finalists are:

Boise (Idaho, USA)
Reno-Tahoe (Nevada, USA)
Schladming-Graz (Austria)
Garmisch Partenkirchen (Germany)

'...Special Olympics athletes deliver. They deliver in their competitions; they deliver with humor; they deliver with appreciation; they deliver with laughter; and their families deliver with pride. These are the reasons Special Olympics World Games can and do change not only individual lives, but change political and societal views and conceptions of people with [intellectual disabilities]...Special Olympics is one 'issue' any local or national government can and will support once they have the unique experience of hosting a World Games and learning more about these athletes. I say this emphatically because it has happened after every World Games in our history. It always happens.'

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics Founder, 1997 Spirit magazine interview

Special Olympics follows a competitive bid process based on the Olympic model in selecting sites to host its World Games, taking into consideration the positive impact the World Games have on host cities and surrounding communities, and the lasting social legacy that can be left as a result of the Games.

A delegation from Special Olympics will be visiting all the finalists soon for site evaluations. The site evaluation team will be led by Jimmy Carnes, Chairman of the Sports Subcommittee of the Special Olympics Board of Directors. Delegation members include Lee Todd, Chief, World Games

The Boise (Idaho, USA) bid to host the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games has been prepared by Jim and Pirie Grossman of Destiny Productions, the Boise Convention and Visitors Center, and Special Olympics Idaho. Endorsements for the Boise bid have come from U.S. Senators Larry E. Craig and Michael D. Crapo, Nevada Governor Dirk Kempthorne, Boise Mayor David H. Bieter and other prominent Idahoans. "