The England and Wales Cricket Board and all eight of The Hundred team franchises reaffirm their commitment to ensuring The Hundred continues to be a competition that is inclusive, welcoming and open to all. The Hundred was established to reach new audiences, grow the game of cricket and ensure that everyone—regardless of their ethnicity, gender, faith, nationality or other—can feel they belong in our sport.
Special Olympics focuses on athletes with intellectual disabilities, emphasizing that they want the same opportunities as everyone else (friends, jobs, independence) without social barriers. The organization helps remove obstacles to let athletes thrive. SOPA is all about the athletes and their remarkable resilience under challenging conditions. One remarkable fact about the athletes with intellectual disabilities is that they want to seek normalcy, inclusion, and the same opportunities as anyone else. They are not looking for "special" treatment or lowered expectations from people.
As parents, none of us want to imagine our child waiting on the sidelines, not because they aren't ready to play, but because there simply isn't enough room on the team. That's the reality facing many athletes with intellectual disabilities in New York City today. Luckily, a new campaign from Special Olympics New York aims to change that for city kids.