Jamaica will be among 10 countries entrusted with taking the Flame of Hope inside the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in the United States.

The Games, set to feature over 170 countries, will be held in Los Angeles, California from July 25 to August 2.

Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) law enforcement officer and Superintendent of Police Stephanie Lindsay and decorated athlete Nigel Davis will represent Jamaica by taking the final run with the famed Olympic Games symbol.

“The entire country must be proud as the Opening Ceremony is the flagship of these games, and the Flame of Hope is what encourages us not to give up,” said the SOJ executive director Lorna Bell.

“The Opening Ceremony, for the first time, will be aired live on ESPN/ABC [networks] and for Jamaica to be asked to take in the Flame, I consider it an honour. I am encouraging every Jamaican to support these athletes, let us show the world we know the true meaning of inclusion and acceptance,” added Bell, who represented Jamaica at the Head of Delegation Conference in Los Angeles late last month.

Special Olympics empowers people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect across the world. The programme aims to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for people with intellectual disabilities.

Jamaica’s contingent at the Summer Games is expected to include 69 athletes, 17 coaches and two officials. The team will compete in aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, football, female futsal, volleyball and bocce.

Bocce is a sport in which players use an underarm action to bowl a ball at a target. Points are gained by the ball’s proximity to the target.

Davis, who has won numerous World Games gold medals in events such as track & field and speed skating, and the other Jamaican athletes are likely to be among the main attractions in Los Angeles, which hosted the 1984 Olympic Games.

Jamaica won global recognition due to historic achievements at the Special Olympics 2013 World Winter Games in the Republic of Korea.

The tropical country won silver medals in two figure skating categories to go with their second place finish in floor hockey.

Davis and Tamra Mitchell were the island’s two representatives who danced on ice in the Asian country.

— Sanjay Myers