Mission

Sport has long been recognised by parents, teachers and coaches to be an activity which people with Down Syndrome can enjoy for recreation. DSIGO also recognises that athletics is a sport in which they can be competitive.

In the 1990s athletes with Down Syndrome could be seen competing with other athletes with intellectual disability in many events including the Paralympics.

Unfortunately, as sport for people with Intellectual Disabilities developed athletes with Down Syndrome found themselves unable to match the performances being established. This was because athletes with Down Syndrome have additional functional and physical disability due to their condition. It is to Mr. Trevor Low’s credit that he started gymnastic competitions for Athletes with Down Syndrome, when he organized the first world championship in Leicester (UK). DSIGO was created to restore equal competitive opportunities for athletes with Down Syndrome who would be able to compete against other athletes with the same abilities. The opportunity to be competitive enhances so many aspects of the life of an athlete with Down Syndrome. Exercise and the development of skills encourage fitness and well being. In addition, taking part in competitions and being a member of a club or a team gives many opportunities to socialise and develop friendships.

Add to this the opportunity to travel to competitions world-wide. Coaching people with Down Syndrome is not so different from coaching any athlete. However, for effective coaching the coach needs to be aware of these simple, but important, points in coaching Down Syndrome athletes:

• • Coaches need to be patient.​
• • Keep instructions short and concise, repeating them many times.
• • Teaching good technique is essential but may take many hours, don’t give up.
• • It is important that athletes learn the basic rules but again, this is also a slow progress.
• • Coaches must be aware of AAI* and the affect this has on the athlete.
• • Coaches must make themselves aware of each athletes limitations in bodily movement not only when competing but also when doing warm up, stretching and flexibility exercises

Finally, remember that coaching people with Down Syndrome is more like coaching non-disabled people than it is different.

The Federation

From 2012 to 2019 DSIGO was managed under the aegis of SUDS.

Mr. Trevor Low with the support of SUDS President, the late Geoff Smedley, have developed this sport around the world, by organizing these events:

2012 – 1st World Championships in Leicester (UK)

2014 - 2nd World Championships in Mortara (Italy)

2016 – 3rd World Championships in Firenze (Italy)​

2017 – UK Open National Championships in Leicester​,

2018 – 4th World Championships in Bochum (Germany)​

2019 - UK Open National Championships in Leicester​

This allowed us to organize:

2022 – 5th World Championships in Ponte di Legno (Italy)

2023 – 6th World Championships in Tshwane (South Africa)

DSIGO's formal constitution was approved in 2024 by the general assembly.

Were elected to make up the first executive board:

• • Ensar Kurt (Turkey) President​
• • Claudio Alarcon (Argentina) Vice President​
• • Allan Chadwick (South Africa) General Secretary​
• • Tullio Bani (Italy) Technical Director of MAG​
• • Aurora Puig (Mexico) Technical Director of WAG​
• • Luisa Vagliviello (Italy) Technical Director of Rhythmic Gymnastic​
• • Slav Petkov (Bulgaria) Member at Large.​