I Special Olympics Latin America Games El Salvador 2006 Athletics competition at the I Special Olympics Latin America Games in San Salvador, El Salvador. [All photos courtesy of the official Games Web site] "Tengo el gran honor de declarar oficialmente inaugurados los I Juegos Latinoamericanos de Olimpíadas Especiales." With these words, President Elias Antonio Saca of El Salvador officially opened the first Special Olympics Latin America Games on 27 March 2006 in the Central American nation of El Salvador. The Games took place from 28 March-2 April. Athlete and coach from Special Olympics Peru share a hug at the aquatics venue, Polideportivo de Ciudad Merliot. Click on the links below to view photographs and learn more about these elements of the Latin America Games: Law Enforcement Torch Run, 24-27 March Host Town Program, 25-27 March Opening Ceremonies, 27 March Youth Summit, 27-29 March Families Forum & Young Athletes™ program, 28-30 March Healthy Athletes® screenings, 28-31 March Sports Competitions, 28 March-1 April Special Olympics Latin America Symposium and Research Workshop: "Sport, Health, and Education: Challenges and Opportunities for People with Intellectual Disabilities,"  28 March The Parade of Athletes (shown here, the Dominican Republic delegation) begins the color and pageantry of the Opening Ceremonies. Six hundred Special Olympics athletes from 18 countries traveled to the capital city of San Salvador (the largest city in Central America) to compete in athletics, basketball, bocce, football (soccer), rhythmic gymnastics, powerlifting, swimming and Unified Sports tennis in these eagerly awaited regional Special Olympics Games. In addition to the competition and other events, the Special Olympics Latin America Games was the occasion for the signing of a Protocol Agreement among the South American Tennis Confederation, the Central America and Caribbean Tennis Federation and Special Olympics Latin America, which specifies commitments toward establishing action items and timelines to expand the Tennis Development Advisory Committee, professionalizing coach training, and promoting competition opportunities at local, national and regional levels. Special Olympics El Salvador volunteer Stevee Nájera (pictured at right, encouraging participants in the Closing Ceremonies) recruited and trained the Delegation Assistant Leaders for the Special Olympics Latin Ameria Games. Visit this Web site's "Meet our Volunteers" section for Stevee Nájera's profile. In addition, the President of El Salvador, Elías Antonio Saca and the Chairman of Special Olympics Inc., Timothy Shriver, signed a declaration establishing a shared commitment to improve the lives of the people of El Salvador with intellectual disabilities through the promotion of the Special Olympics movement. El Salvador is no stranger to world-class sporting events, having hosted the XIX Central American and Caribbean Games (2002) and the X Central American Youth Games (2005). When the Latin America Games were proposed for the region, the government of President Saca, and in particular the office of the First Lady, embraced the event. As Honorary Chair of the Games Organizing Committee, Mrs. Ana Ligia Mixco Sol de Saca, First Lady of El Salvador, has been deeply committed to these Games, with a vision reflected in the Games' slogan, "Changing Attitudes, Promoting Opportunities." A nationwide public relations campaign produced by Mrs. Saca's team brought the faces of the Games - athletes, volunteers, organizers - into the public eye, and by 24 March, when the "Flame of Hope" began its tour of the country, thousands of Salvadoreans had felt the excitement and pride generated by the preparations for the Games. The First Special Olympics Latin America Games took place in San Salvador 25 March-2 April. La información en español: visita Olimpiadas Especiales América Latina sitio Web. The Games encompassed all of the elements of a Special Olympics sporting event: a two day Host Town program; a nationwide Torch Run organized by the National Police Organization; Opening Ceremonies designed to honor and entertain the athletes; five days of sports competition in world-class venues with international judges; concurrent events to promote integration and opportunities: the Youth Summit, the Family Forum featuring a Young Athletes™ program and Symposium and Research Workshop; Healthy Athletes screenings, including Opening Eyes, Special Smiles and Health Promotions; and finally, Closing Ceremonies on 2 April to celebrate the achievements of the athletes and all those involved in making these First Latin America Special Olympics Games a reality.