Special Olympics Ireland

Project Report | Mar 31, 2022
Special Olympics Ireland - April 2022 Update

By Jennifer Marshall | Regional Fundraising Coordinator

The mission of Special Olympics Ireland is "to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with an intellectual disability, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.”

Donations will contribute to supporting our Clubs’ Support and Development Programmes, which costs approximately $922,101 per year to operate. This programme encompasses club governance, support & development, Athlete Leadership and Young Athlete™ programmes.

Clubs are the heart of what we do and we are committed to developing, implementing and communicating processes, policies and procedures to instil a strong culture of good governance. By driving a strong governance culture we will ensure that participation and opportunities are a quality experience for both athletes and volunteers. This programme also includes safeguarding in Special Olympics clubs and club recognition.

In line with Government guidelines, Special Olympics Ireland is continuing to support its volunteers to ensure the safe reopening of clubs across the Island of Ireland. We are excited at the prospect of getting out and about over the coming months, as we work with clubs in each region on our “Let’s Get Back” communication campaign. The goal of this campaign will be to drive awareness and support for clubs as you navigate the current challenging health and logistical constraints. We applaud the enthusiasm, dedication and commitment of our club committees and volunteers and we are thrilled to see 97 clubs already actively running in-person sessions around the island of Ireland. In spite of all the challenges the past two years have thrown at us, our community is stronger than ever because we know we still have so much to achieve on behalf of our athletes, We Can’t Stop Now!

To further aid in the return of clubs across Ireland, Special Olympics Ireland launched the Club COVID-19 Grant Scheme in February. We hope that this additional support will ensure community sports clubs across the country can continue to deliver sporting opportunities at a local level so that our athletes can continue to flourish through participation in the sports they love. Applications will be processed and grants issued by end of March 2022.

On Saturday, March 12th over 100 Special Olympics athletes from all five regions took to the courts in Gormanston Park to participate in the Badminton Advancement event. This event was supported by 60 volunteers who were all delighted to be back in action. All athletes participated in singles competitions and Special Olympics Ireland was extremely grateful to have the support of Badminton Ireland ensuring, as always, that our athletes had top quality umpires and match officials to officiate the games. This event was the qualifying event for the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin so competition was keen on the day and the atmosphere was nothing short of magic.

As always, a special thank you for your support. Your commitment to Special Olympics Ireland is so very much appreciated. Without you we simply could not deliver on our promises.

Through the GlobalGiving Platform we are hoping to achieve a target of $10,000 for donations which will go towards the development of the Clubs Programme. We are delighted with all donations whether they are $10, $50 or $100. Donations of all sizes are welcome and will be thoroughly appreciated.

Warm regards, Special Olympics Ireland

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Dec 2, 2021
Special Olympics Ireland - December 2021 Update

By Jennifer Marshall | Regional Fundraising Coordinator

Donations will contribute to supporting our Clubs’ Support and Development Programmes, which costs approximately $1,623,258 per year to operate. This programme encompasses club governance, support & development, Athlete Leadership and Young Athlete™ programmes.

Clubs are the heart of what we do and we are committed to developing, implementing and communicating processes, policies and procedures to instil a strong culture of good governance.By driving a strong governance culture we will ensure that participation and opportunities are a quality experience for both athletes and volunteers. This programme also includes safeguarding in Special Olympics clubs and club recognition.

In line with Government guidelines, Special Olympics Ireland is continuing to support its volunteers to ensure the safe reopening of clubs across the Island of Ireland. It is important for our clubs to have the support they need to get back to training and we are continuing to develop up to date guides and documents to assist in their ‘Return to Activities’. We are proud of all our clubs that are sharing their learnings as they get back on their feet and embracing the Return to Activities Protocols to keep our community safe.

This October we saw athletes from the World Winter Games team take on the Special Olympics Ireland Health Promotion Programme.This marked the start of the athletes’ preparation for their trip to the Special Olympics World Winter Games. Our Health Promotion Programme is a health education programme developed with, and for, Special Olympics athletes to empower them to adopt healthier lifestyles. Athletes from Team Ireland are learning about healthy eating, meal planning, meal preparation and how to fuel their bodies for sport and competition. 125 athletes across the island of Ireland also focused on their health this October by taking part in the European Week of Sport. Special Olympics Ireland reached Athletes across three online events that sought to promote a healthy lifestyle today, tomorrow, and every day! A number of clubs even took on their own challenges and embraced the #BeActive spirit.

This quarter also saw the beginning of the SO FUN, Young Athletes™ Research Project which seeks to investigate the fundamental movement skills of children with intellectual disabilities aged four to twelve years. By participating in this research project, Special Olympics Ireland aims to identify the current levels of fundamental movement skills in Young Athletes and work with clubs, coaches, athletes, and families to ensure athletes are given opportunities to develop these skills for lifelong sport and physical activity participation.

Special Olympics Ireland celebrated its first Volunteer Awards virtually on the 16th of September. These awards were designed to give volunteers the opportunity to recognise and celebrate other volunteers. We were delighted to receive 87 nominations, with some volunteers receiving more than one nomination. An independent judging panel had the very difficult task of choosing winners in each category, recognising volunteers and celebrating their contributions to their Special Olympics communities.

As always, a special thank you for your support. Your commitment to Special Olympics Ireland is so very much appreciated. Without you we simply could not deliver on our promises.

Warm regards, Special Olympics Ireland

Links:

Learn more about what we are up to now!

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Aug 9, 2021
Special Olympics Ireland-Summer update 2021

By Jennifer Marshall | Regional Fundraising Coordinator

Themissionof Special Olympics Ireland is "to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with an intellectual disability, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.”

Donations will contribute to supporting our Clubs Support and Development Programmes, which costs approximately $1,623,258 per year to operate. This programme encompasses club governance, support & development, Athlete Leadership and Young Athlete™ programmes, as well as the virtual sports offering which came about as a result of Covid-19, known as the Can’t Stop Now programme. Clubs are the heart of what we do and we are committed to developing, implementing and communicating processes, policies and procedures to instil a strong culture of good governance.By driving a strong governance culture we willensure that participation and opportunities are a quality experience for both athletes and volunteers. This programmealso includes safeguarding in Special Olympics clubs and club recognition.

Now that the summer months are upon us, the brighter weather, along with the easing in Government restrictions, has meant that Special Olympics Ireland clubs are being granted the opportunity to return to training. To assist and support athletes on their return to the training environment, Special Olympics Ireland has created easy read Covid-19 documents so that Athletes are empowered with the knowledge they need to stay safe whilst taking part in the sports they love. We are also providing Specific club guidance on all the latest Government and Health advice across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, along with guides, documents and webinars to assist clubs in their preparation for a ‘Return to Activities’.

Under the “Can’t Stop Now” programme we launched our second wave of virtual competitions which welcomed over 800 athletes, almost double the number of athletes that participated in wave one earlier in the year. Athletes entered and competed in 5 sports; Athletics, Basketball, Golf, Bocce/bowling and Motor Activities. To celebrate the amazing achievements of the athletes who competed in Wave 2 of the Virtual Competitions Special Olympics Ireland hosted a ‘Virtual Awards’ night via Zoom on July 19^th and 22^nd. Medals were posted directly to athletes homes where they could celebrate safely with their families and friends.

In line with the aims of the “Can’t Stop Now” programme Special Olympics Ireland also rolled out a 12 week “Lets Run” virtual training programme. This fun-filled 12-week running programme provided athletes with one-to-one support helping them to achieve their running goals. The Let's Run programme came to a successful close this summer with hundreds of athletes smashing their goals of either running for 30 minutes or completing a 5K distance. Our athletes achievements were celebrated on the 14th of July through a virtual awards ceremony that treated members of the Special Olympics community, athletes and families to a night of fun and recognition.

Special Olympics Ireland also opened nominations for the first-ever Special Olympics Volunteer Recognition Awards. The awards create a chance for people across the island of Ireland to recognise the outstanding work done in their clubs and local community by Special Olympics volunteers. There are three nomination categories recognising the great work of virtual volunteers, club volunteers and volunteers that inspire others thereby creating an environment where sports and volunteering can thrive.

As always, a special thank you for your supported. Your commitment to Special Olympics Ireland is so very much appreciated. Without your support we simply could not deliver on our promises.

Warm regards, Special Olympics Ireland

Links:

Learn more about what we are up to now!

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