Tim Shriver promotes upcoming Special Olympics in Great Britain

From The Guardian in the UK:

The national games in Leicester this month will raise the profile of intellectually disabled sport, Tim Shriver (pictured) tells The Guardian.

The chairman of the Special Olympics is jet-lagged so he can be forgiven one foray into cliche. "This is a journey, it is not a destination," said Shriver. "It's a journey to find communities that are fully inclusive and appreciative of the gifts of every person." Considering our interview takes place many sleepless hours after his transatlantic flight landed at 5.20am it is a wonder this is the only time he sounds as if he is operating on autopilot. Instead for half an hour Shriver speaks eloquently, passionately and authoritatively on the rights and needs of the intellectually disabled.

He has evidently inherited some of the oratorical skills of his maternal uncle, John F Kennedy, and his reference to the "journey" comes when speaking about a gaffe committed by the current US president, one who many think embodies the ideals of JFK. Speaking on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno in March, Barack Obama likened his bowling ability to "the Special Olympics or something". A thoughtless statement so out character that it warranted a call to Shriver soon after the show was recorded.

So, did Shriver admonish the president for his insensitivity, or thank him for the publicity? "Neither," he says. "I expressed to him that it was a difficult thing for our community, for many people it is quite painful to feel — even if he didn't mean it — to feel made fun of. But I also expressed my appreciation for his apology. I think all we ask of people is that they be more sensitive in the future, or open-minded — it's not just about controlling your speech, it's about opening your mind."

Previously an academic specialising in the social and emotional factors of learning, Shriver probably knows better than most that it can be counterproductive to preach — particularly when addressing your country's new commander-in-chief: "It was a tough experience for all of us in the field of intellectual disability, and Special Olympics in particular, because nobody wants to be in a situation where we're scolding, or perceived to be scolding, the president of the United States or a major political figure."

Obama offered to have some Special Olympic athletes to visit the White House to play his favourite sport, basketball, or bowling, one the president has perhaps had enough of — but to date nothing has happened: "We have not had a specific event yet where the president can interact with Special Olympics athletes yet, but we're hopeful. He has been busy."

Shriver is busy too — in London to attend the Beyond Sport summit he has given over time he could dedicate to sleeping to instead promote the Special Olympics GB National Summer Games that take place in Leicester on 25-31 July. Up to 8,000 athletes will participate across 21 disciplines in the largest multi-sport event to take place in Britain this year, but Shriver is not satisfied.

"We have 135 clubs in this country, we have 8,000 athletes who are participating – we could have one million, literally. That's not a rounded number, there are one million people with learning disabilities in this country, yet [we have] 8,000 participating," he says. "Leicester should be a wake-up call. This country is going to host the Olympics, this country is going to host every country in the world — it is going to be the centre of the world's attention. Rightfully so, it should be able to say, in every nook and cranny, in every village and hamlet, and in every town on this island and in its greater domains, bias against people with disabilities has been removed in the Olympic spirit and through Olympic ideals and values. Namely participation in human greatness through sport."

He could almost be cheekily paraphrasing: "And so, my fellow Olympians, ask not what your Olympics can do for you; ask what you can do for your Olympics." But Shriver is not his uncle and he is not a politician, which is why he is forthright in his views on the lack of funding received by Special Olympics GB over the course of its 31-year existence.

"There are 200 children born in this country every day with learning disabilities and most will grow up and experience enormous prejudice unless we do something about it. So we do need more government support, there is no doubt about it — I think we need to turn the goodwill into real support, into muscle," says a man who enjoys a good relationship with Gordon Brown. "The prime minister and his wife have been very receptive and friendly to our movement when he was chancellor of exchequer and now. What we haven't got yet is any government funding, frankly."

Ireland was the first country outside of the US to host the Special Olympics, in 2003, followed by China four years later, and Shriver says the Irish "understand the social and political power" of the Special Olympics, while the latter is as generous as any country: "Special Olympics China acts as a charity within the government and the government funds 95% of our work in China. In the total opposite direction here in the UK you have no government funding."

Panama and Egypt, among others, have never hosted the games yet Shriver says they recognise the difference the Special Olympics can make in the lives of the intellectually disabled and fund the charity accordingly. Why then has Britain failed in their support for so long?

"It's a little bit of a mystery. I think there are probably a lot of reasons. I think if we knew exactly what the reason was we'd have solved it by now. I don't know, I could speculate — it's a complicated environment here for charities and causes in general. I don't know, I'm not sure," says Shriver. Sport England have pledged £200,000 to help bridge a shortfall in funding for the Leicester games, the first funding Special Olympics GB has ever received, according to their CEO, Karen Wallin. Not so, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. A complicated environment indeed.

One thing that Wallin and the DCMS agree on is that the sport minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, much like his predecessor Andy Burnham, is keen to assist the Special Olympics and that money is required specifically for the learning disabled.

Many hands have been wrung of late worrying about the London Olympics' legacy and whether 2012 will get more people participating in sport; Shriver says welcome to his world. "I worry about it all the time. I worry that people think about legacy in terms of buildings, in terms of roads, in terms of bridges and in terms of money.

"The Olympics were not founded for roads and bridges and money, the Olympics were created because the Greeks felt, and [Pierre] de Coubertin felt more recently, that there was something about the human spirit that was brought out in sport. That human endeavour and achievement and courage and determination could be magnified through sport, that it could be revealed through sport. Not that we build bigger stadiums through sports, or that we'd have greater ticket sales … That's great, I don't have any problem with that, but a legacy should be a human legacy."

Shriver has ideas that may be of interest to those in 10 Downing Street, has he any plans to pay a visit while in town? "My phone hasn't been ringing. Not this time, I know the prime minister is busy." Just like President Obama. Maybe they are both fearful of his bowling ability.