Athlete Advocates in health

Special Olympics Arkansas strives to create a healthy environment that will also extend to our Athletes daily lives. We remain determined to increase wellness opportunities for our athletes to participate in throughout the year. There are two different avenues that we focus on:
Community Wellness Opportunities help engage Special Olympics athletes in the community by providing opportunities to participate in community programs that exist outside of Special Olympics. Examples include: participation in fitness classes, joining local walking clubs, taking part in community gardening.
Special Olympics wellness programs are opportunities for athletes taking place within Special Olympics but outside Healthy Athletes. These opportunities can be tailored to address the specific localized health needs of athletes in a particular community. Examples include: Fitness Challenges, Fitness Captains, Live Healthy Education, etc.​​
The Fitness Challenge is a 6 week fitness/wellness program designed to encourage persons with intellectual disabilities and their supporters to focus on a healthier lifestyle. Anyone can participate as an individual, team or family. 
​Special Olympics Health Messengers are athletes who are trained to serve as health and wellness leaders, educators, advocates and role models within their Special Olympics communities, as well as the community at large.
Fitness Captains are athletes on a sports team who lead the team in activities related to fitness and a healthy lifestyle.
The Healthy Workplace Checklist is a way for day programs to promote health and wellness in their facility for clients and staff. 

Additional  Resources

​A wellness program promoting physical activity and healthy habits for athletes. Includes fitness challenges, goal tracking, and weekly tips. Used a baseline for SOAR Fitness Challenges. Fit 5 Resource Series. 
Guide to implementing sports-based fitness activities. Focuses on skill development, team games, and inclusive exercises for athletes of all abilities.
The School of Strength is an online fitness program created with WWE to help athletes build lifelong healthy habits.
Cooking Club is a fun and interactive way for programs to promote health and wellness through food and nutrition. 
High 5 for Fitness is a set of resources for youth ages 8 – 21 to help you take control of your own fitness by making healthy choices. 
The SOAR Health Hub brings all our wellness tools and opportunities into one place. Here you’ll find upcoming health events, easy-to-use resources like Fit 5, School of Strength, Cooking Matters, and the Fitness Through Sport Playbook, plus other ways to get involved as a program or athlete.