Attention SONJ Athletes, Coaches, LTPs, Unified partners, and County Coordinators!
The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota and are scheduled for June 19-27, 2026. The 2026 USA Games are games of inclusion and acceptance and are expected to bring upwards of 3,000 Special Olympics athletes and participants from across the United States, as well as more than 1,000 coaches and official delegates.
The 2026 USA Games will serve as a qualifying event for the 2027 Special Olympics World Games in Santiago, Chile in October 2027.
The following Special Olympics New Jersey individual sports will be offered at the 2026 USA Games: athletics, bocce, bowling, golf, artistic gymnastics, powerlifting, swimming, and tennis, while team sports offerings include: basketball, flag football, soccer, and volleyball.
Special Olympics New Jersey has been awarded 90 total athlete/Unified partners and 26 coach slots for a total of 113 in the delegation.
The following events are the qualifying events for athlete selection to the New Jersey delegation to the 2026 USA Games:
- 2024 Fall Games
- 2025 Winter Games
- 2025 Spring Games
- 2025 Summer Games
Please refer to the Special Olympics Sports Rules, Article 1 for the criteria for advancement. Applications will be sent to those athletes who have qualified at the Chapter Level competition and have met criteria for advancement following the 2025 Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games at The College of New Jersey in Ewing on June 6-8, 2025.
Coach applications will be sent to the Local Training Programs directly at a later date. All athletes and coaches who apply must be available for a mandatory Training Camp scheduled for July 26, 2025 at The College of New Jersey and the surrounding area.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email Jess Stevenson at 609-896-8000 or jns@sonj.org.