With just over a year to go until the Special Olympics World Games Santiago 2027, Special Olympics is preparing the high-level team of Technical Delegates (TD) who will be deployed in Santiago across the Games’ 22 sports to uphold and maintain the organization’s high competition standards in order to have meaningful, competitive, and fair competition across all athletes competing.
What is a Technical Delegate? Why are they important?
The Technical Delegate is appointed by Special Olympics as the key sport authority for a specific sport and is responsible for ensuring that the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the World Games correctly interprets, implements, and enforces Special Olympics Sports Rules and modifications, the rules of the relevant International Sport Federations and current rule changes, and Special Olympics World Games Standards.
The Technical Delegate advises the LOC on the technical requirements of the specific sport to ensure a safe, quality, and dignified sports environment. The TD works in collaboration with the LOC's Sport and Competition team.
Meet the Team
Special Olympics has approved the appointments of 43 Technical Delegates representing 32 international and national sport federations for the 22 sports offered at the Santiago 2027 World Summer Games. For the first time in Special Olympics World Games history, women make up 52% of the Technical Delegate team, the highest level of female representation ever achieved in the role. The team will also include three Assistant Technical Delegates with intellectual disabilities, bringing athlete representation directly into the leadership and delivery of the Games' competitions. The appointees are:
Artistic Gymnastics - Men's
- George Krenk (World Gymnastics), Untied States, Technical Delegate
- Num Kutz (USA Gymnastics), United States, Assistant Technical Delegate
Artistic Gymnastics - Women's
- Deborah Pastorelli (World Gymnastics), Italy, Technical Delegate
- Brenda Garbin (Norwegian Gymnastics Federation), Norway, Assistant Technical Delegate
Athletics
- Julio Roberto Gómez Gaitán (Association of Panamerican Athletics), Colombia, Technical Delegate
- Gio Cardona (Association of Panamerican Athletics), Colombia, Assistant Technical Delegate
Badminton
- Ricardo Salamanca (Badminton Pan America Confederation), Colombia, Technical Delegate
- Carmen Martinez Villanueva (Badminton World Federation), Spain, Assistant Technical Delegate
- Sibi Vidyadharan Chandrabhanu (UAE Badminton Federation), Singapore, Assistant Technical Delegate
Basketball 3x3
- Mark Wolfgram (International Basketball Federation), Untied States, Technical Delegate
- Roberto Canada (International Basketball Federation), Puerto Rico, Assistant Technical Delegate
Basketball 5v5
- Pascale Weiwers (Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Basketball), Luxembourg, Technical Delegate
- Dorothy Judy Jekill Okatch (Botswana Basketball Association), Botswana, Assistant Technical Delegate
Beach Volleyball
- Fernando Marques Oliveira (International Volleyball Federation), Brazil, Technical Delegate
- Nicolai Herrmann (Special Olympics Germany), Germany, Assistant Technical Delegate
Bocce
- Debra Pontenberg (Special Olympics, Inc.), Untied States, Technical Delegate
- Alejandro Enrique Acosta Kikuchi (Paraguayan Bocce Federation), Chile, Assistant Technical Delegate
Cycling
- Gunter Van De Sompel (Belgian Cycling, Belgium, Technical Delegate
- Mario Perez Fernandez (Pan American Cycling Confederation), Cuba, Assistant Technical Delegate
Hockey (field)
- Laura A. Macchiotti (Pan American Hockey Federation), Argentina, Technical Delegate
- Linda van Overmeire-Sandkaulen (German Hockey Federation), Germany, Assistant Technical Delegate
Equestrian
- Appointment Pending
Football
- Nicolas Caudle (Special Olympics North America), Untied States, Technical Delegate
- Assistant Technical Delegate - Appointment Pending
Futsal
- Alvaro Brochero (Special Olympics Venezuela), Venezuela, Technical Delegate
- Abdulrazzaq Almahmood Alkabi (United Arab Emirates Football Association), United Arab Emirates, Assistant Technical Delegate
Golf
- Jose Quesada (United States Golf Association), Costa Rica, Technical Delegate
- Briana Haines (Special Olympics, Inc.), United States, Assistant Technical Delegate
Motor Activities Training Program (MATP)
- Appointment Pending
Open Water Swimming
- Alvaro Del Pozo Jacobs (PanAm Aquatics), Peru, Technical Delegate
Powerlifting
- Alex Alvarado (International Powerlifting Federation), Puerto Rico, Technical Delegate
- Elijah Baine Frazier (Powerlifting America), United States, Assistant Technical Delegate
Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Sofia Boura (World Gymnastics), Greece, Technical Delegate
- Lani De Mello (Special Olympics North America), United States, Assistant Technical Delegate
- Rosie Garcia (Special Olympics North America), United States, Assistant Technical Delegate
Swimming
- Manuel Antonio de Jesus Benitez (PanAm Aquatics), Puerto Rico, Technical Delegate
- Andrea Pineda (PanAm Aquatics), El Salvador, Assistant Technical Delegate
Table Tennis
- Santiago Mercadé (International Table Tennis Federation - Americas), Argentina, Technical Delegate
- John Muringani, Zimbabwe Table Tennis, Assistant Technical Delegate
Tennis
- Cecilia Ancalmo (World Tennis), El Salvador, Technical Delegate
- YiYue (Grace) Ge (Chinese Tennis Association), China, Assistant Technical Delegate
Triathlon
- Dora Agnes Rozsa (World Triathlon), Hungary, Technical Delegate
- María Eugenia Arauz (South American Triathlon Confederation), Argentina, Assistant Technical Delegate
Volleyball (Indoor)
- Pamela O'Donnell (Volleyball Ireland), Ireland, Technical Delegate
- Kristine Hughes (USA Volleyball), United States, Assistant Technical Delegate
- Barbara Besal (USA Volleyball), Assistant Technical Delegate
Lou Lauria, Chief of Sport and Competition at Special Olympics, Inc. Shared his excitement for the appointment of these 43 professionals, “Selecting 43 Technical Delegates with this depth of knowledge and experience is an important milestone in our preparations for Santiago 2027. This team brings a wealth of technical expertise from 32 individual international and national sport federations, along with a shared commitment to ensuring athletes experience safe, fair, dignified, and high-quality competition. I am confident our Technical Delegates will work closely with the LOC to uphold the standards of Special Olympics and help deliver an exceptional competition experience for every athlete in Santiago.”
Slated to take place 16 – 24 October 2027, the Special Olympics World Games Santiago 2027 will be staged across multiple venues, with the majority of competitions taking place at Parque Estadio Nacional. Click here for more information on the Santiago 2027 Technical Delegates and Assistant Technical Delegates.
