**3.1 Table tennis in SO**

*Cardiorespiratory Fitness*

**2. Special Olympics**

correlated with the level of ID as technical skills are dependent on cognitive processes such as information processing, visualization, and memory capacity [9]. Furthermore, the levels of physical activity among ID population are usually insufficient to achieve health benefits [3]. Previous studies on physical activity interventions show significant improvement in coronary heart disease risk factors after 12-week physical activity intervention [7], and the engagement in physical activity has been observed to improve also the social and general life competences needed for community inclusion [10, 11]. However, several barriers to engage physical activity such as lack of resources, limited options, or

transportation constrain have been recognized [12].

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

abilities, skills, social inclusion, and success through sports [13].

groups depending on their actual abilities and limitations [15].

health service for people with ID [18].

Special Olympics (SO), the world's largest sport organization for both children and adults with ID, included in word Olympic network, holds many sport events every year at both national and world levels and provides all year-round sport training for a continuous physical fitness development. SO offers more than 30 individual and team sports and gives people with ID a chance to discover new strength,

The worldwide SO movement was started in the 1950s in the USA, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver held a summer day camp for young people with ID and recognized that through sports, people with ID can develop their mental and adaptive capacities. In 1968 the first SO competition was held, and the abilities of athletes with ID were highlighted instead of their disabilities to create the atmosphere for acceptance and inclusion for all people. Nowadays, SO includes 5 million athletes from more than 170 countries [14]. In the Czech Republic, approximately 3000 athletes participate in trainings and competitions within the Czech Special Olympics Movement. SO sport program includes athletes with ID below 75 IQ points, including athletes with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and perception impairment. Therefore, various sports or events with a differently demanding relation to sports are available, e.g., cross-country skiing 50 m or 3 km race, table tennis (TT), and bowling. Coaches or parents are responsible for appropriate choice of sport event according to the level of athlete executive functions, healthy status, athlete interest, and external environment. Coaches or parents are also responsible for regular training and motivation to compete with maximum effort and fair play behavior. The competitions are based on the principle of relativity, when athletes compete in

Additional programs of SO are oriented on families, independent behavior of the athletes, public awareness, education, research, and Healthy Athletes program including, e.g., FUNfitness, FitFeet, or Health Promotion screening [13, 16, 17]. Healthy Athletes program was started in 1997 and offers a free health screenings and healthy lifestyle education to SO athletes in a welcoming and fun environment including the area of podiatry, physical therapy, audiology, vision, dentistry, emotional well-being, sport physical exam, and better health and well-being. The aim of this program is to improve the access to

Benefits of physical activities for athletes with ID are similar to those for general population: (1) improved physical factors, e.g., aerobic capacity, gross motor function,

*(Special Olympics Athletes Oath)*

**52**

Table tennis is a complex and demanding game with many technical and tactical aspects. This game has specific requirements on attention, visual perception, executive functions, learning, and adaptation skills of the athlete [23, 24]. Eye-hand coordination and knowledge of tactics, e.g., appropriate stroke for the situation, are needed. Besides, top TT players study their opponents to attack their opponents' weakness to win [9, 24]. The aim in the TT in Special Olympics is to improve eyehand coordination and quickness [13].

TT is characterized by short-term maximal efforts with passive resting intervals. The intensity during the game depends on the level and type of player (attackerdefender), gender, and age [25]. During the match in TT professional players, HR reaches the 90.3% of the players' maximal HR [26].
