Microsoft partners with Special Olympics as a part of the Windows 10 #UpgradeYourWorld initiative

Microsoft teamed up with the Special Olympics to celebrate the inclusion of people with intellectual and physical disabilities in competition as part of Windows 10’s #UpgradeYourWorld initiative. From March 17-18, members of the Special Olympics Unified Sports teams, which include athletes with and without disabilities, invited the public to participate in pickup games of “Streetball” soccer games on projected fields in Los Angeles, CA, at Venice Beach and in Microsoft Square at LA Live.

Over 150 athletes and their families, as well as public participants, took part in the event, and Microsoft was able to capture the memories through a FoxTales StoryStudio powered by Windows 10 to share their photos on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Microsoft and the Special Olympics are teaming up for another event, “Upgrade Your Game,” that will take place tomorrow, March 26, 2016, at 4:00 PM in Seattle, WA. The Upgrade your Game training camp will allow athletes of all ages and abilities to practice their soccer and football skills with Special Olympics coaches, Seattle Sounders FC alumni, and football players from Everett Reign (tickets available here). All proceeds from the event will go to the Special Olympics.

Since 2014, Microsoft has been collaborating with the Special Olympics to help athletes train harder and more efficiently by tracking their performance and helping them strive to do better through Microsoft Health and the Microsoft Band. As the Official Technology Partner for the Special Olympics, Microsoft provided over 2,000 devices as well as support for their Games Management System (GMS) at the 2015 Summer World Games in Los Angeles.

For the first time, Microsoft used GMS to track athletes’ personal bests in real time at a major to track athletes’ personal bests in real time for the first time at a major sports event. With the power of Windows 10, Microsoft and the Special Olympics worked together to use technology to attempt to change the world through the power of sports.