[San Diego, California, USA - January 29, 2026] The American Council on Exercise (ACE) and Special Olympics International have announced a two-year extension of their partnership to further promote inclusion and accessibility in fitness. The continued collaboration focuses on promoting educational materials that prepare exercise professionals with education and tools to support the design and delivery of safe, effective physical activity programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID).
“ACE is committed to empowering exercise professionals with the education and tools they need to ensure that all people—including individuals with intellectual disabilities—have the opportunity to lead full, healthy lives with ready access to meaningful physical-activity options. We are honored to continue our partnership with Special Olympics and look forward to further expanding these essential resources to equip health and fitness professionals around the world.”
ACE and Special Olympics previously partnered on the “Special Olympics Inclusive Fitness Training,” a course to promote inclusion within the fitness industry. Nearly 23,500 individuals worldwide have registered for the course to date. One course participant noted that the course provided, “Solid learning material to help me learn as a trainer working with persons with ID. Excellent info on communicating, presenting info and motivating. Thank you for offering this for free, it was very helpful for me to be more inclusive.”
“We’re thrilled to continue and grow our collaboration with ACE to develop innovative programs that meet the needs of people with ID and build more inclusive, supportive communities.”
ACE and Special Olympics have also partnered to create the Community Physical Activity Leader (CPAL) course, in collaboration with Amy Bantham, CEO of Move To Live® More. The CPAL course is a free, accessible resource that trains individuals with and without ID to lead inclusive physical activity programs in their communities.
Approximately 1 – 3% of the global population (about 200 million people) has an intellectual disability (Patel, 2020). People with ID often lead more sedentary lives and are less physically active compared to the general population. Individuals with ID may be at higher risk for developing metabolic syndrome, overweight and obesity, and osteoporosis.
