| Next month, 2,700 Special Olympics athletes from 107 countries will gather in Austria to show the world their talent, bravery, determination, and spirit. Please join us in celebrating the Special Olympics World Winter Games Austria 2017. We'll send you short, regular updates as we prepare for Games, and provide you with the best stories once the Games are underway. X Games Gives Preview of Snowboarding Competitors For the third straight year, a cross section of Special Olympics athletes competed at X Games Aspen in January. Eight Special Olympics athletes from around the World were paired with X Games athletes to compete as Unified teams in a dual slalom race. Teammates' scores were combined to determine final rankings. Special Olympics athlete Semen Ferotov and X Games pro Jamie Anderson took the gold, edging out Special Olympics athlete Daina Shilts and X Games pro Hannah Teter by less than 2 seconds. You can watch the full event online here, and see photos of all the competitors here. All eight of the Special Olympics athletes competing at X Games will be attending the World Winter Games in Austria. So, keep your eyes out for these amazing athletes on the slopes. You can also support these athletes as they raise money to attend the Games. Ferotov and Shilts have pages on GoFundMe.com. Check out and share Semen Ferotov's page here and Daina Shilts' page here. Unified Floor Hockey Team are Cuba's First World Winter Games Athletes in Years Cuba is sending its first athletes to a Special Olympics World Winter Games in more than a decade. The all-male team is part of Cuba’s growing Unified Sports program, which brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities. The teammates come from all around Cuba. Their Unified Sports training has brought them together in ways they didn’t expect, as they discover they are more alike than different. Cuba’s team is being supported by the National Ministry of Education, among other local and provincial government supporters. The teammates already know who they’ll face in their first game: the Unified Sports floor hockey team from China. Join us in wishing these and all our athletes good luck at the Games! World Games Opening, Closing Ceremonies Tickets Now Available Know someone who will be in Austria next month for the Special Olympics World Games 2017? Need tickets for Opening or Closing Ceremonies? Both are on sale now. Order online here. | 