Special Olympics

Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.

Mini-Hops is proud to be the home of the largest Special Olympics gymnastics team in the state of Minnesota-coached by community volunteers at no cost to the families. More than half of our volunteers are youth. Special Olympics Minnesota provides training and certification. We dedicate the gym for two hours every Saturday solely for this program to minimize distractions and provide a safe environment for our special athletes to practice.

What is Special Olympics?

Special Olympics is an international organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to engage in sports training and competition. Special Olympics offers children and adults year-round training and competition in 26 Olympic-type summer and winter sports. The mission of Special Olympics is to give athletes continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in sharing gifts, skills and friendship.

Our coaching philosophy at Mini-Hops is to maintain a disciplined, respectful and challenging environment which encourages athletes to train to reach their personal best and of course have fun!

Who is eligible for Special Olympics?

To be eligible to participate in Special Olympics, an individual must be at least six years old to train and eight years old to compete and be identified by an agency or professional as having one of the following conditions: mental, and/or cognitive delays as measured by formal assessment, or significant learning or vocational problems due to cognitive delay that require or have required specially designed instruction.

What type of gymnastics training do you do? Isn’t gymnastics too hard for most people?

Gymnastics combines strength, flexibility and artistry. Mini-Hops features both Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics. Both are surprisingly accessible sports and the ability to participate in them is not heavily dependent on age, body type, or fitness level (which will increase with training). The Special Olympic routines are progressive in nature and are carefully designed to work on the most basic skills and build on that foundation. Our team has athletes ranging in age from 7 to 39, some who are physically as well as developmentally challenged. All are able to participate meaningfully and with a sense of accomplishment.

Female athletes in Artistic Gymnastics train and compete in four events: There are several levels at which athletes perform artistic routines, starting with the compulsory levels, 1 through 3, and moving up to the more difficult optional level 4.

Women’s Events

• Vaulting
• Uneven Bars
• Balance Beam
• Floor Exercise
• All Around (combination of all four event scores)

Rhythmic Gymnastics (Level I and up for females only):

• Rope
• Hoop
• Ball
• Ribbon
• * Club
• All Around

* MHG athletes do not participate in this event

Male Artistic Gymnasts train and compete in six events; they also have levels 1 through 3 and the more difficult optional level 4.

Artistic Gymnastics:

Men’s Events

• Floor Exercise
• Pommel Horse
• Rings
• Vaulting
• Parallel Bars
• Horizontal Bar
• All Around (combination of all six event scores)

We encourage athletes to learn their basic skills thoroughly and also to move up to the highest level they can achieve.

When do the athletes train?

We train from September to June on Saturday afternoons, beginning with Artistic Gymnastics for both male and female athletes at 12:45 to 2:15 and Rhythmic Gymnastics for female athletes at 2:15 – 2:45. We do take some weekends off and you will receive a specific schedule when you register.

Are there competitions?

Yes. There are two formal competitions a year, an Area meet usually held in late April or early May and the State Summer Games, held in June. To be eligible to compete in Summer Games, an athlete must be 8 years old, properly registered, have trained for a minimum of eight weeks, and have competed in the Area Meet. Male and female gymnasts may compete in all events offered (All Around) or may be specialists, competing in one, two, or more (but not all) events. Athletes are judged at these events and receive ribbons and medals based on their performance. We also do some exhibitions and clinics during the year.

How do we get started?

There is some paperwork to fill out for MiniHops and the Minnesota Special Olympics Organization, you can pick that up at Mini-Hops. (The Special Olympics forms can also be found at www.specialolympicsminnesota.org at Forms Central). There is no tuition for Special Olympics training, except an annual registration fee of $37.00 to be a member of Mini-Hops Gymnastics. Competition uniforms are supplied by the program, but during training it is preferable if female athletes wear leotards and male athletes wear gymnastics shorts and t-shirts. If they do not have leotards, athletes may wear shorts and tee shirts that will not interfere with movement.

Can parents watch training sessions?

Mini-Hops is and has been a professional member of the United States Gymnastics Association since 1976. USAG rules require that no observers be present in the gym for safety reasons, but we have an observation area where spectators can watch through windows. We do invite you to observe in the gym during competitions.

Who are the coaches?

• Brad Thorsen. Team Manager. Head Coach, Women’s Program
• Madge Thorsen. Head Coach, Rhythmic Program.

You will also meet our many other volunteer coaches, all of whom are certified by Special Olympics to work with the program.

For more information, you can call Mini-Hops at 952-933-2452.

Gymnastics Facts

Special Olympics gymnastics was first included in 1972 as an official sport in the third International Special Olympics World Summer Games, when 11 athletes competed in tumbling and free exercise routines.

At the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland, 177 artistic gymnasts and 53 rhythmic gymnasts from 51 programs competed.

Five Minnesota delegations currently offer their athletes the opportunity to train and compete in gymnastics. For a list of the delegations participating in gymnastic go to the Special Olympics Website. Participation in gymnastics at has grown from 41 athletes in 1995 to 89 in 2006. For more information about gymnastics or Summer Games, go to www.specialolympicsminnesota.org.