Mission of Special Olympics Florida

The mission of Special Olympics Florida is to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for people with intellectual disabilities who wish to participate, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.
The ultimate objective of Special Olympics Florida is to help people with intellectual disabilities participate as productive and respected members of society at large, by offering them a fair opportunity to develop and demonstrate their skills and talents through sports training and competition, and by increasing the public's awareness of their capabilities and needs.

Man O' War Team Philosophy

In keeping with the mission of Special Olympics Florida our team aspires to give our athletes opportunities to train and compete in the sport of swimming. Our ultimate goal is mainstreaming our athletes so they are comfortable and accepted by general society in the sport of swimming. With this goal in mind we try to make our program as similar in character to any other non-Special Olympics swim team. Our coaches attempt to instill in our swimmers that it takes teamwork, commitment, sacrifice, and dedication to become a successful competitive swimmer. We believe success in swimming will have a positive impact on the athletes' lives both inside and outside of the pool.