FGG observes the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver

The Federation of Gay Games notes with regret the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and wishes to applaud this pioneer in sport for all. Mrs. Shriver, seen in this photo at the 1973 Special Olympics at Chicago's Soldier Field, site of the opening ceremony of the 2006 Gay Games, leaves a legacy of a lifetime of work for the developmentally challenged.

Her greatest achievement, making the Special Olympics a perennial international event, has great resonance for the FGG. In her words at the opening ceremony of the first International Special Olympics at Soldier Field: "The Chicago Special Olympics prove a very fundamental fact, the fact that exceptional children — children with mental retardation — can be exceptional athletes, the fact that through sports they can realize their potential for growth”, we hear a message for all men and women, that whatever their history, whatever their innate ability, through sports they can realize their potential for growth.