Jocs Special Olympics Granollers 2023 # Federació ACELL IC Spain – Special Olympics meeting in Granollers, April 1, 2023 The Special Olympics program reserved some time in its schedule for a group of volunteers from the IC Spain to enjoy time on court and to share not only their tennis expertise but also some big smiles with the athletes. Under the slogan ‘light your flame’, all the players of IC Spain were able to see how the flame of each of the special athletes was ready to burn and were ready to follow their pledge, ‘if I cannot win, let me do my best’. A very special time was shared among the players - Xavier Llucia, Albert Viloca, Pepe Vicente, Eva Bes, Sergi Tintore, twins Mar and Anna Cabassers and Berta Tintore - and the group of special players. The President of the IC Spain, Santi Tintore was also in attendance. A total of twelve athletes from the Acell Group will have the opportunity to participate in this event that gathers 1,500 special athletes, includes 14 different disciplines and welcomes participants from 11 regions of Spain and 10 visiting nations. Back in 1969 Eunice Kennedy Shriver organized a camp for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Her sister Rosemary was affected by an intellectual disability and by a lobotomy. Eunice discovered that the special athletes who were able to practice sport regularly benefited in quality of life like any other athlete. Francesc Martinez de Foix, founder of the Acell Federation, who also had a brother with learning difficulties, brought the Special Olymics to Spain. This is the second time that Granollers hosts this unique event, the first edition there was in 1994. A big thank you to Granollers for making this unique event possible.
