To advance to a higher level of competition in a particular year, an athlete must have participated for a minimum of eight weeks in an organized training program in the sport or sports in which he or she is entered for higher level competition. A planned regimen of training under a volunteer coach, teacher or parent is considered an organized training program. Advancement criteria are used for selecting athletes to compete at World Games, such as the soccer (football) competition between Special Olympics Ireland and Team USA at the 2003 Special Olympics World Games) and are strongly recommended for use in selecting athletes for advancement to other levels of competition. In addition, an athlete must have placed first, second or third at the lower level of competition in the same sport. For example, an athlete may not advance to international or multinational competition in a given sport unless that athlete competed in that sport at a national or state/provincial competition and placed first, second or third. When conditions exist that preclude all first-, second- or third-place winners from advancing to higher-level competition (for example, a Program has 100 first, second- and third-place winners in the 100-meter dash and a quota of five athletes for the 100-meter dash at the next World Games), athletes shall be selected as follows: a. First Priority: Athletes shall be first-place winners in at least the event at the next lower level of competition. If the number of first-place winners exceeds the quota, athletes shall be chosen by random selection from among all division winners. b. Second Priority: Athletes who were second-place finishers in the event shall be chosen next by random selection from among all division winners. c. A team having no competition at a specific level shall be declared a winner. The team shall not receive a place award; however, the team shall be eligible to advance to the next higher level of competition. An athlete shall not be barred from future competition because of prior competition (e.g., an athlete who competed in the 2003 World Games is eligible to compete in the 2007 World Games unless that athlete fails to meet some other eligibility criterion). The above criteria are used for selecting athletes for advancement to World Games and are strongly recommended for use in selecting athletes for advancement to other levels of competition. Refer to the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules for more information or contact Dave Lenox, Vice President, Sports & Competition, +1 (202) 628-3630 or dlenox@specialolympics.org.