Esports
Join the Special Olympics New York Esports Community!
All Athletes and Unified Partners Welcome
We invite you to become part of the Special Olympics New York Gaming Community—a fun, inclusive space where athletes and Unified partners can connect, build friendships, and enjoy video games together.
Join the Special Olympics New York Esports Community!
All Athletes and Unified Partners Welcome
We invite you to become part of the Special Olympics New York Gaming Community—a fun, inclusive space where athletes and Unified partners can connect, build friendships, and enjoy video games together.
Our goal is to foster a vibrant online community centered around Esports and virtual gaming. Organized and led by our dedicated Special Olympics New York Esports athletes, this initiative is designed to bring people together through shared gaming experiences.
Each month, our Esports athlete leaders circulate a poll to all members of the community. The most popular game selected in the poll becomes the focus of that month’s Game Night—a fun and friendly virtual gathering held via Discord.
- Cognitive – Multiple studies have found that video games strengthen a wide range of cognitive skills including problem-solving, spatial attention, multi-tasking, and short term and long- term memory.
- Communicative – Cooperative video games require teammates to communicate effectively in order to achieve their best. Clear communication is essential, especially because many video game players are not playing together in-person.
- Emotional – Similar to traditional sports, players enjoy the positive feelings of well-earned victories and learn to manage the negative feelings of disappointing losses.
- Social – Despite stereotypes portraying gamers as socially isolated individuals, gamers prefer playing with other people. For teens, gaming is a primary way to interact with peers.
How to Join:
To become a part of the community, please complete the interest form linked below. After completing, Special Olympics New York staff will follow up if any additional paperwork is required for access to the Discord server and monthly game nights.