An 18 year old without an intellectual disability living in Bulgaria, Anna Dimitrova was first introduced to Special Olympics through her participation in a Youth Summit.
The purpose of a Special Olympics Youth Summit is to bring together 10-20 youth pairs, ranging from ages 12 to 17. Each pair is composed of one Special Olympics athlete and one partner without an intellectual disability who, together, serve as delegates representing their school, community, state/province or nation.
In 2009 Anna participated in the first Assembly of the Global Youth Activation Summit which took place during the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise Idaho (USA). Her role was to be partner and translator to Bulgarian Bocce athlete Tonja. Together with Tonja and the Special Olympics Bulgaria coordinator, they contributed to the Summit by actively participating in discussions, organising activities and most importantly representing Bulgaria. This was an opportunity to education more people about Bulgaria and the growth of Special Olympics there.
It was the experience of the World Winter Games that helped Anna appreciate that Special Olympics is a world-wide movement supported by millions of people. During those Games, 2,000 athletes, 5,000 volunteers, 1,000 students and thousands more fans were united through sport and experienced the joy of competition and winning.
In the words of Anna: “I will remember this experience for many reasons: the story of 60,000 scarves knitted for the event by volunteers throughout the whole world, the sight of the city of Boise full of volunteers, the moment of waving to Joe Biden, vice president of the U.S.A., the joy in Tonja’s eyes throughout our stay there and the tears of happiness in the eyes of our dear champions. Everyone should experience an event like this, because it is the only atmosphere in which you can feel the power of people’s spirit and find your calling in life”.