Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, June 5 – The 2005 Special Olympics East Asia (SOEA) Senior Coaches Training Seminar opened in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province on 1st June 2005. Attendees included representatives from Special Olympics China, Special Olympics Hong Kong, Special Olympics Macau, Special Olympics Chinese Taipei and Special Olympics Korea which recently joined SOEA.

Mr George Smith, Managing Director of SOEA, Mr Wang Zhijun, the president of Special Olympics China, attended the seminar’s opening ceremonies. Mr Huang Chunbin, the vice-president of the Shenzhen Disabled Persons' Federation, indicated that the local government would strongly support the development of Special Olympics in Shenzhen. Representatives from Mattel Company, which recently became a global Special Olympics sponsor, also attended the opening ceremony.

Turbo javelin was introduced as a new sport and Mr George Smith invited expert Mr Jay Geron from the US to train the coaches. It was also an honor to invite famous soccer coach Kwok Ka Ming from Hong Kong to lecture on soccer sports rules.

All of the lecturers and trainers have been involved with Special Olympics for quite a long time so they have a lot of experience with our organization. They shared their thoughts and concerns with all of the attendees. After reviewing the various sports rules, the seminar was moved outside where all attendees joined in the actual practice sessions.

This seminar lasted for five days and was successfully concluded closed on June 5th. All of the coaches agreed that they would meet each other with their own athletes during the 2007 Shanghai Special Olympics World Summer Games.