Special Olympics Washington athlete Joseph Warner will be competing in Snowboarding at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025, taking place from March 8-15, 2025. This event is the flagship event of the Special Olympics movement, which promotes inclusion, equality and acceptance around the world. With over 1,500 athletes from 103 countries, the Special Olympics World Games transcends the boundaries of geography, nationality, political philosophy, gender, age, culture and religion, uniting participants in a celebration of inclusion and diversity.
With the Special Olympics World Games soon approaching, Joseph is excited to snowboard on unfamiliar mountains, try new foods, and meet people from around the world. Joseph enjoys the social aspect of World Games, seeing it as an opportunity to meet new supportive friends. Joseph is also looking forward to the opening ceremony, where athletes, coaches, families, volunteers, and supporters of the World Games will join together in a celebration of acceptance and unity.
In preparation for this monumental event, Joseph has not only been training physically, he’s also been using his voice to motivate other Special Olympic athletes. When asked how he’s been using his voice, Joseph said, “I’ve been sharing about the World Games at different events and giving speeches about my experience with the Special Olympics and the World Games. I also joined a group chat with other athletes that are going and connected with them about what’s going on and how we are doing.” Joseph’s passion for snowboarding was influenced by his family and friends, and he is now returning the favor by inspiring others through his experience.
Joseph’s experience as a multi-sport Special Olympics athlete has been helpful in strengthening his skills as a snowboarder. Joseph’s experience in Unified soccer required strong footwork and balance which are crucial elements of effective legwork while snowboarding. In Unified basketball, Joseph needed strong coordination and quick thinking, which Joseph finds invaluable on the mountains since you have to be aware of the other people around you while snowboarding. Joseph also finds value in having a consistent warm-up routine in order to improve his performance and prevent injuries. He typically runs, stretches, and listens to music before each competition.
The President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, emphasized the importance of the Special Olympics World Games: “This is very much about sports, but of course not only about sports. It’s about inclusion. It’s about participation. And that’s why I’m quite sure that we, as a society, can learn a great deal beyond the sport that we’ll be seeing over the next week. Not only that people with disabilities have something to gain from inclusion, but that we as a society also become richer when we live inclusion.”
As the Special Olympics World Winter Games draw closer, we encourage the Special Olympics Washington community to join us in supporting Joseph. Let’s influence change in the Special Olympics movement and #Cheer4USA this March!
