MANGALORE Sept 24: The scorching sun on Wednesday would surely have tested the endurance of seasoned athletes. That these physically challenged competitors managed to withstand the heat make each one of them champions.

But the organisers of the Special Olympics held at NITK-Surathkal keeping the special efforts of the champions in mind ensured that each competition at the event had several winners. For instance, the 50-metre race for the ‘Lower Ability’ category of contestants had five first, second and third places.

The Director of Special Olympics for the district, Vasanth Shetty, told The Hindu how this was done. Called the ‘divisioning system’, this method of evaluation first takes into account individual statistics of each contestant. Then the contestants are divided into several groups with equal standing. Each group has a gold, silver and bronze winner. “In the 50-metre race there were five such groups and that’s how we have five first, second and third spots,” Mr. Shetty said. The idea, according to the organisers, is to instil a sense of achievement in people with disabilities.

“We live in a cruel world that is divided into two unequal parts. The larger part is inhabited by ‘losers’ and a minority are ‘winners’. But in the world of the disabled, everybody is special, everybody is a winner,” said Bhavya B. (18), a student volunteer.

But what about the ones that do not come first, second or third despite the ‘divisioning system’? Mr. Shetty said, “There is a prize for every contestant. Out here nobody goes back home a loser.”

Hindu