08/10/2026
Who's excited!? 🎉
It's just 10 days until the 2026 Special Olympics Australia National Games take place in Melbourne from 19-23 October.
To celebrate, here are 10 fun facts:
1️⃣ The 2026 Games will bring together more than 850 athletes with intellectual disability and/or autism from across Australia.
2️⃣ There are also going to be four athletes from New Zealand.
3️⃣ Athletes will compete in 13 sports including athletics, basketball, bocce, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, ten-pin bowling, football, table tennis, netball and DanceSport (demonstration sport).
4️⃣ The 2026 Games coincide with the 50th anniversary of Special Olympics in Australia, marking half a century of empowering athletes through sport.
5️⃣ The Inaugural National Games was held in Launceston in 1986 with about 200 athletes participating.
6️⃣ The 2026 Games are a qualifying pathway for selection to Team Australia for the 2027 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Santiago, Chile.
7️⃣ My Plan Manager is a proud partner of Special Olympics Australia.
8️⃣ Olympian Ambassadors of the 2026 Games are Mack Horton, Milly Tapper, Emma Nedov, Yual Reath, and Annabelle Smith.
9️⃣ Melbourne last hosted the National Games in 2014. 2026 will be the third time Melbourne has been the host city.
🔟 The event schedule is out now! Find it in the comments below.
