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2011 YEAR IN REVIEW
2011YEAR IN REVIEW
The Board of Directors would like to extend their sincere thanks to all our athletes, families, coaches, volunteers, ambassadors and staff for your continued dedication to the organisation. And to our corporate partners, sponsors and donors thank you for your generous support.
Premier Partner:
Official Partners:
Design: www.773c.co.uk
Printing: Palladian
Official Supporters
Cash 4 Clubs, Chris Knott Insurance, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Fleishman Hillard, Geoff & Fiona Squire Foundation, JWT, Jomati Foundation, Lexis PR, Microsoft, Orrick, Royal & Ancient, Simpson Wreford & Partners, The Henry Smith Charity, The John Ellerman Foundation, The Leathersellers’ Company Charitable Fund, The Rank Foundation, The Scotshill Trust,The Gerald Micklem Charitable Trust , The Chapman Charitable Trust,The Westbury Hotel Mayfair, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, Vodafone Foundation.
Ambassadors
John Amaechi OBE – NBA Basketball Legend; Osvaldo (Ossie) Ardiles – Football Legend; Shaun Baker – Extreme Kayaker; Armand Beasley – Beauty and Fashion Guru; Graham Bell – British Ski Champion and BBC-TV Presenter; Moira Brown – Special Olympics GB Athlete; Darren Campbell MBE– Sprinter, Olympic Champion; Anna Hemmings MBE – Canoeist, World Champion and Olympian; Georgina Hulme – Special Olympics GB Athlete; Chris Kamara - Former Football Player and Manager and current Sky Sports Presenter; Lawrie McMenemy MBE – Football Legend; Katharine Merry – Sprinter, Olympic Champion; and Hope Powell OBE – Footballer, England Women’s Head Coach.
Board of Directors
Chairman: Murton Mann Vice-Chairman: Jim Blair.
Len Dunne, Chris Hull, Miles MacKinnon, Gordon McCormack, Ian Muir, Phil Nathan MBE, Andy Reed, Keith Wilcox and Greg Silvester.
Honorary Board
President: Lawrie McMenemy MBE. Vice President: Paul Anderson OBE.
Pat England MBBS, Georgina Hulme , Ian Muir and Rosie Stancer.
Year In review Credits:
Editor: Karen Wallin
Copy Editing/Production Editing: Andrea Zapata
If you have any comments or queries in regards to this publication please email Andrea Zapata at [email protected]
Foreword
2011 has been another remarkable year for Special Olympics Great Britain!
The organisation has continued to develop and go from strength to strength both through the continued commitment of our volunteers, families, staff and corporate partners and with everyone working together to achieve the mission of Special Olympics.
In 2011, we enjoyed a successful World Summer Games staged in Athens and alongside this, we managed to increase our funding despite the continued difficult economic times.
It was inspirational to see the great spirit of everyone involved with our charity through these challenging times and it is this spirit which, undoubtedly contributes to our development and further growth. It is also evident when our athletes show the world what they can do - instead of what they cannot do!
In 2011, we announced changes to our Board of Directors, which saw Lawrie McMenemy MBE and Paul Anderson OBE take up the reigns as President and Vice President on the new Honorary Board. We also, welcomed a new generation of directors to guide the charity towards the successful execution of its key strategic goal of quality growth by 2013.
I am delighted to have been elected as the new Chairman of the Board and alongside me as my Vice Chairman, Senior Intellectual (learning) disability Nurse at St Georges’ University of London, Jim Blair. We also made appointments of six new directors: marketer and entertainment business expert Len Dunne; sponsorship and communications expert Chris Hull; financial services consultant Miles McKinnon; one of the charity’s long standing volunteers Ian Muir, as Honorary Treasurer; former MP for Loughborough and Chairman of Sports & Recreation Alliance Andy Reed and Special Olympics GB’s athlete and gymnastics coach Greg Silvester.
The new board members joined NEC appointed members Gordon McCormack and Keith Wilcox and Lions Clubs International (MD105) and Chairman of MedicAlert, Phil Nathan MBE.
The following pages provide an overview of the highlights in 2011. We hope you learn how special everyone involved with our organisation is, from our athletes, volunteers and coaches, to our corporate partner and every one of our supporters across England, Scotland and Wales.
I look forward to yet another greater year ahead! Murton Mann, Chairman
About Us page 4 Achievements page 5 World Summer Games page 11 Athletes page 16 Partners page 17 Bulletin Board page 23
2,800 volunteers and coaches
sPecIal olYMPIcs Great BrItaIn KeY Facts
26 sPorts
8,000 athletes
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What is Special Olympics Great Britain?
Special Olympics Great Britain is a UK registered charity that transforms the lives of people with intellectual (learning) disabilities through sport.
We are a recognised member of the Olympic Movement with a unique role to play in the world of disability sport. Paralympics provides sports competitions for elite level disabled athletes with physical and sensory disabilities, including intellectual (learning) disabilities, while Special Olympics fosters a daily community sport programme for all levels of ability for those with intellectual (learning) disabilities.
Special Olympics empowers children and adults with intellectual (learning) disabilities to take part in sport at any level of ability and benefit from it. Research proves that - as with any person that takes part in sport – a person with intellectual disabilities can improve their fitness, health and wellbeing when they participate in regular sports activities.
What makes Special Olympics special?
Special Olympics sports training sessions and competitions are in some cases, perhaps the only opportunity that our athletes have to interact with other people and feel part of their community.
All Special Olympics competitions are ‘banded’ – this allows all athletes to have the opportunity for achievement based on their own level of ability.
Special Olympics provide athletes with intellectual (learning) disabilities of all abilities a pathway from grass-roots to international levels
Thanks to Special Olympics, people with intellectual (learning) disabilities discover new abilities and talents such as coaching, volunteering, becoming advocates in their local communities.
Transforming lives beyond our athletes
Participation in Special Olympics transforms not just the lives of people with intellectual (learning) disabilities but also the lives of their families and carers. Special Olympics offers the chance to families to meet other families, receive support, and even have some time free, while their relative is training or competing.
Special Olympics also transforms the lives of our volunteers and coaches, who whilst giving something back to their communities, also make new friends, learn new skills and are inspired by the determination and spirit of our athletes.
What is an intellectual (learning) disability?
People with intellectual (learning) disabilities have a life-long mental impairment - IQ of 75 or below -. They might have different limitations to think, learn and communicate that affect their way to carry out tasks that those without intellectual (learning) disabilities may find easy to do.
People with intellectual (learning) disabilities might need longer time to understand and do things and day to day challenges to live their lives. Many feel isolated and suffer from discrimination in society, mainly because the lack of awareness about intellectual (learning)disabilities.
Our Goal
Special Olympics Great Britain is focused on growing local club capacity and in supporting the government’s vision of an inclusive future for disability sport.
By 2013, we aim to grow the programme from 8,000 to 20,000 athletes and from 2,800 to 6,500 volunteers, so more people have the chance to transform their lives through sport.
Did you know?
In Great Britain there are an estimated 1.2 million people with an intellectual (learning) disability with a further 200 babies with intellectual disabilities born each week. When you consider families, friends and carers, the total footprint of those touched by intellectual (learning) disabilities could be as much as 12 million people.
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Developed 3 key partnerships to support growth
Ensured athletes had access to more regular competition opportunities
Launched our first ever National Football Strategy
2 studies were completed to measure the impact of our work
The English Learning Disability Sports Alliance
In November, Special Olympics GB and Mencap announced the establishment of The English Learning Disability Sports Alliance.
The alliance works across the sport sector to promote awareness and inclusive provision of disability sport in England. It focuses on ensuring that people with intellectual (learning) disabilities have the best opportunities and choices to participate in sport, both recreationally and competitively.
Mark Goldring, Mencap’s CEO, said: “We are at a turning point for learning disability sport. The establishment of this alliance and the inclusion of elite athletes with an intellectual (learning) disability in the London 2012 Paralympics Games provide a real impetus for us to raise awareness of the achievements and benefits of intellectual (learning) disability sport.” According to Special Olympics GB’s CEO Karen Wallin, “Our new working partnership with Mencap will ensure we can fully exploit our synergies to create a wider pathway for people with intellectual (learning) disabilities transforming their lives through sport.”
Mencap and Special Olympics GB will remain as two separate organisations, but thanks to the alliance will work more closely together to share skills, resources, and promote a strong, united voice for people with an intellectual (learning) disability in sport.
Key Partnerships
Towards the end of 2011, the charity was proud to sign memorandum of understanding agreements with two National Governing Bodies.
Together with Mencap we secured funding from Sport England for two Inclusive Sport Advisor posts to work with national governing bodies of sport to increase inclusive sports opportunities for people with an intellectual (learning) disability.
These partnerships will enable more people with intellectual (learning) disabilities to take part in sports.
Special Olympics GB & Mencap Sport launch English Learning Disability Sports Alliance
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Karen Wallin, Lawrie McMenemy MBE, Paul Fallon
and Jeff Davis after the signing of the memorandum of understanding
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was the first National Governing Body to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Special Olympics GB. The agreement sets out a common framework for the two national organisations to develop and promote the sport of judo for people with an intellectual (learning) disability.
According to BJA CEO Scott McCarthy, “The word ‘do’ in judo - as written in Japanese - means the way or path; this partnership with Special Olympics GB will lead to an enlightened pathway to well-being for learning disabled athletes, our coaches, and volunteers. Judo started 130 years ago in 2012 – it seems only fitting to kick-off this agreement with Special Olympics GB during the Olympic Year.”
Some of the Highlights of the agreement include: Special Olympics GB will provide support and guidance to the BJA in promoting judo for people with an intellectual (learning) disability and; each BJA club and its affiliate wishing to provide judo for people with intellectual (learning) disabilities will become an accredited Special Olympics GB programme.
The Football Association (FA)
also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Special Olympics GB to encourage the inclusion and grow the participation of people with intellectual (learning) disabilities in football regardless of their ability.
According to Jeff Davis, The FA National Disability Development Manager, “Both the FA and Special Olympics GB are committed to ensuring that anyone who wants to play can play, no matter of their ability level. This understanding will help to create a player pathway from local to international competition for our current and future learning disabled footballers.”
Highlights of the agreement include:
• Establish a common vision for the future development of intellectual (learning) disability football within England;
• Ensure each accredited Special Olympics GB football club has a minimum of one qualified FA Level 1 football coach involved in its regular training sessions and that each Special Olympics GB region has a minimum of one FA Level 2 football coach supporting regional development.
The agreement was inspired by an invitation-only roundtable hosted earlier in the year by Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore and Lawrie McMenemy MBE, President of Special Olympics GB, to put Disability Football and specifically Special Olympics football on the national agenda.
Did you know?
Over 1,800 learning disabled people currently play football thanks to Special Olympics GB.
Did you know?
Judo was introduced in Special Olympics GB 17 years ago by current Technical Advisor and BJA coach Paul Everest. He did it to engage his learning disabled brother James Everest in sport.
James Everest, right
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In February 2011, Football leaders met for an invitation-only roundtable discussion, hosted by Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore and Special Olympics GB’s President Lawrie McMenemy MBE at the Premier League headquarters in London.
The Premier League, League Managers Association and Professional Footballer’s Association all pledged to support Special Olympics GB’s National Football Strategy initiatives and goals.
Scudamore, said: “It is a compelling story – there is no simple mechanism to pull people together. It doesn’t matter how many pieces of Lego it takes to build it as long as you achieve your objectives and getting us all around the table is a good start.”
Representation from across the GB football world attended the event including Richard Bevan (CEO, League Managers Association), Nick Cusack (Professional Footballers Association), Simon Morgan (Premier League) and Jeff Davis (FootballAssociation).
New Charity Ambassador Chris Kamara attends Unified Football Competition
Nine 7-a-side teams from around GB competed at the 2nd Special Olympics GB National Unified Football Competition held on Friday 22 April in Milton Keynes. The occasion was perfect to officially welcome former football player and manager and current Sky Sports pundit, Chris Kamara, as ambassador of Special Olympics GB.
Kamara, who met and coached the footballers on the day, said: “My first experience of Special Olympics and Unified Football was ahead of the World Cup in South Africa. After that trip, I knew I wanted to be involved with the charity and I’m honoured to come on board in an official capacity.”
Spurs striker Jermain Defoe supports Unified Football Clinic
Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Jermain Defoe got to grips with a slightly different form of the beautiful game when he attended a Unified Football coaching session hosted by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation in Enfield on Friday 13 May.
Defoe took part in a warm-up drill before joining participants for a kick around. He said: “Unified Football is a great idea and something that a lot of people don’t know about, but our Foundation is clearly working hard with Special Olympics to get more people involved and give people with intellectual (learning) disabilities more chances to play football.”
This event kicked-off the celebration of the 11th Special Olympics European Football Week (May 14 - 22, 2011) that took place in 45 countries.
currently 1,800 footballers
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Aim to increase to 3,500 by 2014
Premier League clubs unite in support of Special Olympics
Also as part of Special Olympics European Football Week, the Manchester United Foundation and the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation joined forces for the first time at the historic Cliff Training Ground in Salford on 21 May, to run a Special Olympics GB football clinic for over 70 children and adults with intellectual (learning) disabilities of all ability levels.
“It’s great to see two Premier League clubs coming together at a grass roots level. Football should be experienced by anyone who wants it, regardless of their ability.” Jason Cornwell, Special Olympics GB’s Football & Unified Sports Manager.
Chris Kamara with Special Olympics football athletes
Jermain Defoe joined Unified Sports event
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Developing future Sports Leaders
14 volunteers and three Special Olympics athletes attended a one-day tutor training course delivered by Sports Leaders UK at the Badminton & Netball Centre of Loughborough University on 4 June 2011.
It included both theoretical and practical sessions where the participants learned about leadership principles, how to be able to plan, identify and deliver sports leaders’ courses.
Volunteer Cycling Coach, from Glasgow Tom A’Hara, said: “Overall the day made me think about how I do my coaching sessions and it helped me to focus in particular areas, like how to talk to our athletes.” Bob Billson, Special Olympics GB’s Development Manager, said: “This one-day event is just the first step towards a grass roots development project that will be rolled out in GB in the following 12 months and that will potentially benefit 900 Special Olympics volunteers and athletes.”
This course will enable the 20 Special Olympics GB volunteers and athletes to qualify to deliver to local Special Olympics volunteers both the one-day course in Sports Leadership (level 1 and 2), and the Community Sports Leaders Award (over a total period of 38 hours).
This programme is supported by Sports Leaders UK and Domino’s Pizza Customers through The Pennies Foundation online charity box programme.
Volunteers benefit from training opportunities
In October, 12 volunteers attended the first ‘Train the Trainer’ two-day workshop, to gain the foundation skills to become approved volunteer trainers.
The workshop included presentations skills and was based around delivery of the new volunteer induction training.
“The weekend was a great success. The training has really helped me. I believe that I could go on and do more of this.” said a West Midlands athlete.
Seven National Volunteer Induction Training presentations were delivered to clubs across the UK in 2011 – 220 local club volunteers took part. A further 12 training sessions were delivered for corporate employee volunteers with over 227 volunteers benefiting from volunteer coordinator training and general events training sessions.
Special Olympics GB organised Away-Days for volunteers from the West Midlands, Southern and South East regions. The purpose of the events was to discuss and evaluate the region’s strengths and weaknesses and specific challenges. Topics included how to recruit new athletes, introduction of new sports and the on-going challenge of recruiting and retaining volunteers.
300+
2010 20110
Over 300 new volunteers registered in 2011 an 11% increase in the number of volunteers if compared with previous year.
400+volunteers attended our volunteer training
workshops and regional away-days.
Did you know?
In 2010 and 2011 and for the first time in over 30 years, Special Olympics GB was able to set up its dedicated National Volunteer Support Programme thanks to funding from: The John Ellerman Foundation, The Rank Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
This funding will nurture growth and development and provide new training opportunities, support and guidance for our volunteer force right across the GB.
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Olympic Games Makers
As one of the London 2012 Official Games Makers partners, Special Olympics GB’s National Volunteer Manager, Gaye Barber, has supported a group of Special Olympics GB athletes through the application process to become volunteers – Games Makers - for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
With more than 250,000 applications lodged by the closing date, it took all of 2011 to process the applications, conduct interviews and assign those who were successful to their Games Maker roles.
For some, the wait to hear the outcome was more than a year, but so worth the wait when the offer finally arrived – it’s been a joy to share in their news and excitement when the emails came through.
As we go to print, 14 Special Olympics athletes and four head office staff have been assigned volunteer roles and will be Games Makers in 2012. They have been assigned to front of house or operational
roles which will involve interaction with members of the public, officials, special guests, other volunteers and, in one or two cases, Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Gaye Barber explained: “This is a powerful opportunity to break down barriers and the lack of understanding about the learning disabled community and wouldn’t we all want to be flying on the wall in those venues to see our team in action. We are very proud and very excited for our Games Makers for whom this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity and we wish them all a wonderful 2012 experience.”
Coach Education Grant Scheme introduced
For the first time in more than 10 years, the charity was able to make grants available for registered volunteers wishing to undertake national governing body coaching courses. The grants were made possible by the generous funding received from The Scotshill Trust,The Gerald Micklem Charitable Trust and the Chapman Charitable Trust.
Volunteer Victoria Jones from Pembrokeshire was awarded the first grant under the charity’s Coach Education scheme. Victoria was able to do a British Gymnastics coaching course at the Neath Afan Gymnastics Club in Wales. The course involved a five day formative coach education supported by a tutor and three months supported practice at a local gymnastics club with a mentor coach.
“This grant has allowed me to specialise in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics, gaining new skills and techniques for coaching. It is a great honour and pleasure to coach Special Olympics athletes and to watch them achieve their best”, said Victoria.
Special Olympics GB’s Director of Sports & Services’ Andy Heffer said: “This grant represents both an investment in our volunteers and is a demonstration of Special Olympics’ commitment to provide high-quality coaching programmes to our athletes.”
26 coaches have successfully gained new coaching qualifications in eight different sports to date.
Welsh Volunteer Victoria Jones received Coach Education Grant
Our athlete George Brunt is one of the lucky applicants selected to
volunteer at the Olympics Games
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Between July 2010 and July 2011, Canterbury Christchurch University and Special Olympics GB conducted a research to study the psychological and social differences between those people involved in Special Olympics and those not involved.
Over 100 people with intellectual (learning) disabilities volunteered their time to answer various psychological questionnaires at a variety of sites and events in the South East of England.
The study showed that those who did participate in Special Olympics had a higher self-esteem than those who did not take part. Higher self-esteem leads to more feelings of self-worth and more self-care. Findings also concluded that those involved in Special Olympics had wider social networks and lower stress levels.
The study was led by Clinical Psychologist, Dr Clare Watts, who had the support of six volunteer researchers and the supervision of Jan Burns, Professor of Clinical Psychology.
Our athletes also have wider social networks
Special Olympics athletes have higher self-esteem
The Impact of Our National Summer Games
The first-ever comprehensive study of the impact of the Special Olympics GB’s National Summer Games concluded that sport not only provides enormous social and health benefits for people with intellectual (learning) disabilities, but it can also act as a pathway to a greater sense of citizenship and inclusion.
According to Special Olympics GB CEO Karen Wallin, “This unprecedented report delivers valid and practical data on the value of sport to people with intellectual (learning) disabilities. It is also an important tool to help us evaluate the future role of our organisation in view of the changing sporting landscape and the hopes for a more inclusive society.” In-depth interviewing of athletes with intellectual (learning) disabilities, families and officials was carried out by project research fellow Dr Susan Barton and jointly led by Professor Richard Holt and Dr Neil Carter from De Montfort’s University’s International Centre for Sports History and Culture, and John Williams from the University of Leicester’s Department of Sociology.
The research was supported by Leicester City Council, Special Olympics GB, NHS Leicester Cityand the International Centre for Sport Studies and was commissioned by the Special Olympics Leicester Games 2009’s Legacy Research Group.
The Learning Disability, Sport and Legacy report was launched at the House of Commons on 26 October 2011 at an event hosted by Leicester West MP Liz Kendall, and with the attendance of the Minister for Sport & Olympics Hugh Robertson.
Highlighted Findings
• Eight out of 10 respondents agreed it was good to have the opportunity to mix with people with intellectual (learning) disabilities.
• Being part of Special Olympics helped to counteract the isolation experienced by people with intellectual (learning) disabilities.
• Special Olympics offers important opportunities for self-realisation, competition and sociability for athletes, family members and carers and a potential forum for developing greater awareness and lasting relationships between disabled and non-disabled people.
• The ground breaking research also looked at the impact and legacy of the Special Olympics GB National Summer Games Leicester 2009 on the athletes, the city and the public.
• The report however, called for radical new thinking on future Games and more government and sport’s governing body funding for intellectual (learning) disability sport.
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The Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Athens (25 June – 4 July) was the world’s largest multi-sports disabled event in 2011, with 7,000 athletes with learning disabilities competing – the 2012 Paralympic Games will have 4,200 competing athletes - it was therefore “the Olympics before the Olympics,” especially when considering the affiliation the organisation has with the Olympic Movement.
Special Olympics GB President, Lawrie McMenemy MBE, said; “The Special Olympics World Games are often overlooked. We are the third member of the Olympic Movement. The pride of representing your country and making your family proud are a huge part of our Games, our athletes stood on the podium in Athens to accept medals for GB as any Olympic and Paralympic athlete will do in London in 2012.” 157 British athletes were chosen for their dedication to sport and participation at the qualifying Special Olympics GB National Summer Games in Leicester in 2009.
GB one of the best kitted-out in Athens
The GB Team was one the best kitted-out in Athens. A specially designed handmade panama hat for the delegation to wear at the Opening Ceremony was donated by Marks & Spencer, and with thanks to long time supporters Lions Clubs International, each athlete received complimentary MedicAlert bracelets.
MedicAlert’s CEO Mark Rawden was thrilled to meet the team; “I think the families felt calmer knowing that accurate medical history was available and only a phone call away.”
Athletes compete in Athens thanks to Cash4Clubs Grants
18 GB Team athletes in need of funding support to attend the Games were chosen to be the first recipients of a Cash4Clubs grant. Each GB Team athlete with help from their local club was tasked to raise £2,000 to get them to the Games in Athens.
Betfair’s Head of Corporate Responsibility, Georgina Corbett, added: “We are excited Cash4Clubs was able to help talented athletes via this joint initiative with Special Olympics GB. Betfair is committed to grassroots sport so we’re delighted to announce that a further £7,500 will be available to Special Olympics GB clubs in 2012. We hope this makes a real difference to a number of groups and their members, enabling them to purchase new equipment and invest in their facilities.”
Cash4Clubs grant winners: Stephen Barry, Jamie Bichard, Tom
Brownsword, Michael Clarke, Philip Davis, Michael Ditchburn,
Neil Harley, Jayne Hinett, Justine Kerr, Declan Kerry, Christina
Lewis, Owen Miller, Helen Pritchard, James Rendell, Robert
Taylor, Ian Urquhart, Allan Walsh and Lynn Williams
Athletes wore their Medi Alert bracelets in Athens
Karen Wallin, Special Olympics GB CEO, said; “The GB Team would have never been able to attend the games without the help of their communities, families and the support from of our generous partners and sponsors including National Grid, Coca-Cola GB, Lions Clubs International, Dominos’ Pizza, MedicAlert, Marks & Spencer, and Betfair’s Cash4Clubs.”
In other to compete at the games, Special Olympics clubs, supported by families and volunteers have to fundraise £2,000 per athlete and £1,000 per coach to pay for the costs involved in taking a team to a World Games.
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The 2011 Special Olympics GB Team competed in 17 out of 22 sports offered: Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Bocce, Cycling, Equestrian, Football (including Unified Football), Golf, Gymnastics (Rhythmic and Artistic), Judo, Kayaking, Powerlifting, Sailing, Table Tennis, Tennis and Ten Pin Bowling.
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Golf player Benjamin Horner won
a Gold medal
Ian Bradford won Gold in
Table Tennis
Briony Johnson and Hazel
Johnston won Gold in Badminton
doublesRichard Murphy and Owen Miller
took gold in Athletics
Stella Jelly won silver medal at 200m race single event
Kellie Brabham won
three Golds in judo
GB swimmers win silver at 4X50 Freestyle Relay
Our Bocce team clinched Gold in the final against South Africa
Gold medallist Christine Durrance
with coach Nancy Peters
Powerlifter Lynn Williams won
Gold, Silver and Bronze
Jonathon Mackie won six Gold
and one SilverCyclist Rosemary Hollingsworth
won the 1st medal for GB
The GB team ended their Athens adventure with a haul of medals and superlative performances over the weekend that saw the total medal tally hit 187!
72 Gold
63 sIlver
52 BronZe
Our Basketball team took
Bronze after win over Israel
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Unique Family support for the GB team
The 2011 GB Team was supported by a group of dedicated family members from across Scotland, England and Wales.
“There were nine family members - including parents, children, and siblings - who are part of the team. This is unique to Special Olympics and something you will rarely find with the Paralympics or Olympics,” explained Special Olympics GB CEO Karen Wallin.
Many of the families joined Special Olympics GB to improve their family members’ quality of life through sports, and others became involved because there were no resources available for their children to participate in disability sports in their area. Still others, like mother/son Lesley and Matthew Whitehead - both coaches - are just passionate about making a difference in the lives of people with learning disabilities.
There were also over 230 family members travelling to Athens to cheer on the GB team.
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Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony held at the Panathenaikon Stadium on 4 July 2011 featured British singer Heather Small of M Peopleand a speech by GB team tennis player Shain Lewis of Wales.
Shain was honoured to be chosen - among the 7,000 athletes competing at the games - to deliver a speech to thank Athens and Greece for hosting the World Games, on behalf of the athletes from 180 countries.
Shain said: “Special Olympics has given me the chance to represent my country. I feel it is an honour to play tennis for Great Britain. I want to show people that with a disability you can achieve the same as others.”
The flame was extinguished and the flag was officially handed over to the Games Organizing Committee for the 2013 World Winter Games in Pyeong Chang, South Korea. A sky full of fireworks lit up the sky as the ceremony came to a close.
As 2011’s largest multi-sports event drew to a close, Gordon McCormack GB’s Head of Delegation said: “We arrived as 157 athletes and 56 volunteer coaches but we leave as one team.”
Pop singer Heather Small said: “Being on stage and performing for all those athletes from across the world was a very powerful, moving moment for me. Then being hugged by a group of Special Olympics athletes from GB Team made it just perfect.”
Mother and son Lesley and Matthew Whitehead are
both proud Special Olympics coaches
Felicity Martin won two Golds
and three Silvers
Jamie Black and Matthew Legg
won Silver in Ten-Pin Bowling
doubles
Everyone on the Tennis squad got a medal
Sarah Biggs and Unified partner
John Shepherd won Bronze in
Sailing
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A Warm Send-off
Prime Minister David Cameron met with a group of GB Team athletes at Downing Street on Monday 6 June to wish them luck before they headed off to represent Great Britain at the games.
Joining the athletes at No. 10 were London 2012 hopeful gymnast Beth Tweddle, Olympic silver medallist and Special Olympics GB’s ambassador, Darren Campbell MBE and the charity’s President Lawrie McMenemy MBE.
Beth Tweddle said; “I can appreciate the emotional and physical dedication that goes into being an athlete. I hope to see the Special Olympics GB team set the tone for medal winning ahead of London 2012!”
Later on that day, the GB Team was honoured with a reception at the Greek Ambassador’s residence in Mayfair, hosted by his Excellency, Greek Ambassador Aristides Santis and his wife Ekaterini Simopoulou-Santis, who warmly welcomed our athletes, volunteers, sponsors and families, as well as dignitaries and sports stars.
The lucky athletes representing the 2011 GB Team on the day were: Charlotte Cox, Lee Penfold, Declan Kerry, Caitlin Dodds, Jonathon Mackie, Jemma Bowie-Hallam and Shain Lewis.
Welsh and Scottish athletes and coaches also had a warm send-off by their home countries.
A night to remember!
The Games kicked off on the night of 26 June with a spectacular Opening Ceremony headlined by singing legend Stevie Wonder and actress Vanessa Williams staged at the Panathenaikon Stadium, the venue of the first modern Olympic Games held in 1896.
The GB team was proud to march into the stadium during the traditional Parade of Athletes cheered by thousands of people, family members, Greek dignitaries, and film and sports stars from across the world.
The hundreds of British families and supporters in the audience exploded with cheers as Wonder shouted Omar Ahmed – one of our athletes. This happened because Omar is well known within Special Olympics for starring in our winning award interactive film ‘Encourage Omar’ To watch the film, please visit http://www.encourageomar.co.uk/
The team visited the Skiathos Monastery as
part of their Host Town programme
Host Town
The team was thrilled to spend a week in the island of Skiathos to help them acclimatise to the heat, they also had time for some final training, and experienced some of the Greek culture.
According to Vicky Santikos, President of the GB Host Town programme, “The whole island was preparing and waiting for a year to welcome the GB team.”
British team shows the world – we never give up!
Special Olympics International CEO Tim Shriver evoked the words of Winston Churchill - “Never, never give up! Never give in. Never, never, never, never.” – when he addressed the GB team at a welcome reception hosted by the British Embassy in Athens on 27 June.
Shriver’s words referred to the fact that the games had started off unlucky for some GB athletes, as a violent stomach bug struck down two-dozen of the 157 athletes, and many were hospitalised. All athletes recovered and went onto compete in their sports showing a determination and resilience aligned with the Olympic spirit. “In the midst of adversity,” continued Shriver, “you find a part of yourself you never knew you had. You think you are here for sports but you are also here to play your best and prove to everyone you’ve got what it takes to be a Special Olympics athlete. You can say proudly, ‘I come from Great Britain and I never give up!’”
The reception was hosted by H.E British Ambassador to Greece Dr. David Landsman of Winchester to celebrate the British participation at Special Olympics World Summer Games.
Stevie Wonder & Vanessa Williams at Opening ceremony
Athletes send-off included a visit to No 10
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Four recognised in Queen’s Honours
Special Olympics GB’s athletes, volunteers, board, staff, sponsors and supporters celebrated as four Special Olympics members were recognised in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday and New Year Honours.
The charity’s Vice-President Paul Anderson was awarded an OBE for his work within the sport and voluntary sector which includes 23 years dedication to Special Olympics. Paul won a sailing bronze medal in the 1968 Olympics and joined the Special Olympics Movement Back in 1989 as a Director General of Europe.
Paul said: “It has been, and continues to be the most wonderful experience to work with Special Olympics, creating through sport, a better quality of life and levels of unbelievable achievement for athletes with intellectual (learning) disabilities.”
Also, an MBE honour went to Sarah Moreland, Special Olympics GB Equestrian coach for services to Further Education, while our ambassador, former NBA sports star John Amaechi received an OBE honour for services to Sport and to the Voluntary Sector.
CEO, Karen Wallin explained: “As an ambassador John has been a great support in helping us develop our programme and in particular our basketball programme, running clinics and being our spokesperson for Special Olympics GB European Basketball Week which runs across 30 countries every November.”
And to top off the year, our volunteer from Isle of Wight, Celia Jordan was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours for services to Disability Sport.
Celia said: “I’m very honoured but it’s all to do with Special Olympics – without them it wouldn’t have happened. We also have an excellent committee running the club.” According to the charity’s CEO Karen Wallin, “Sarah and Celia have illustrated the passion and commitment of many of our volunteer coaches who work all week and volunteer for Special Olympics during their evenings and weekends.”
Scottish volunteers’ win 2011 BBC Unsung Heroes Award
Special Olympics GB volunteers’ Janice Eaglesham and Ian Mirfin won the Unsung Hero category at the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
Ian Mirfin said: “We know many other people who are involved to a greater extent than us and this is an award for volunteers everywhere.”
Janice and Ian have been involved with Special Olympics for nearly 30 years through their athletics club, Red Star Athletics in Glasgow. Our charity was also briefly mentioned during the ceremony broadcasted on 22 December on BBC1.
Our president Lawrie McMenemy MBE and our CEO Karen Wallin attended the event together with the 2011 World Summer Games athletes Richard Perris and Hazel Johnston.
Karen Wallin, said: “We are delighted to be invited to the BBC sports awards ceremony, it shows our organisation is being recognised for the significant role we play within the intellectual (learning) disability sport sector in GB.”
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Top Regional Accolades for Our athletes
Athlete Laura Ferguson from Sunderland received the Individual Sports Award at the Young Achievers Awards – accolade given to people aged 15-20. Laura started playing badminton in 2008, and competed in the 2009 National Games. She was recognized for her fine performance on the court, as well as contributions to her family, school, and community.
Hazel Johnson also a badminton player, was named the Disabled Sports Achiever of the Year at the Greater Manchester Sports Awards.
Hazel who is sight impaired also has hearing and intellectual (learning) disabilities, but that no barrier! She competes within Special Olympics and in mainstream leagues for Bolton Lads and Girls Club. Hazel adds this accolade to her wins of two gold and one silver medal at the 2011 Special Olympics World Games in Athens.
Hazel said: “I am pleased to win this award. It is a great honour to be recognised by the wider Greater Manchester sporting community.” Rachel Burke, sports development manager at Bolton Lads and Girls Club, who nominated Hazel for the award said: “She is a great role model for our younger badminton players and we are proud to have Hazel as part of our team.”
Tennis player Shain Lewis received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Tennis Wales Awards in recognition of representing Great Britain at the 2011 World Summer Games in Athens. Basketballer, Lee Penfold, won the Judges Special award category at the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards 2011.
Janice Eaglesham and Ian Mirfin
received BBC Unsung Heroes award
Badminton athlete Hazel Johnson wins Top Regional Sports Award
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sGB Athletes train as new media journalists
Special Olympics Great Britain athletes George Holt and Laura Mitchell together with unified partner Keven Shard and volunteer Louise Hicks, learned how to plan and create easy to build websites, called Wikis, as part of the Europe-wide project called Special Olympics Wiki World, which aims to train young Special Olympics athletes and partners as new media journalists.
The project kicked off with its first ‘Train the Trainers’ Seminar held in Brussels on April 2011, followed by a second workshop held in Bucharest in June. In November, our athletes and their partners, visited the Belgian capital again and gave a presentation of their wikis at the European Parliament.
This project is part of the Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Programme. It will enable participants to learn and develop their computer skills, at the same time it will give young people with intellectual (learning) disabilities the chance to work with athletes from other countries to build and showcase their skills, and use media tools to become advocates of themselves and the work of Special Olympics.
Further training and implementation of the Wiki World Project will roll out across Great Britain beyond 2012.
The project is run by the Mencap Rix Center and Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia and is funded by the European Union Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) as part as its ‘Youth in Action’ Programme.
Global Youth Activation Summit
Footballer George Holt and Unified Partner Keven Shard represented GB at the Global Youth Activation Summit held in Athens along the Special Olympics World Summer Games. The event aimed to promote acceptance of young people with an intellectual (learning) disability into wider society through sports, friendship and youth-led advocacy.
The summit saw 66 youth participants, aged 12-17, from 33 countries in attendance. The agenda for the event was shaped by input from George, Keven, and many other Special Olympics’ youth leaders from around the world. Each session was planned by and lead by youth participants. Highlights of the agenda included an “Educate, Motivate and Activate” discussion, photo and blogging training and a Global Youth Rally.
The Global Youth Activation Summit allowed George and Keven to continue their unwavering efforts to increase and raise awareness of Unified Sports opportunities and to improve their peers’ experiences in them.
Athletes participate at the INAS Global Games
Special Olympics GB was proud that nearly half of the 37-strong athletes who competed at the 3rd INAS (International Federation for Sport for Para-athletes with an Intellectual Disability) Global Games in Liguria, Italy from 24 September to 4 October 2011 were current or former athletes of Special Olympics GB.
Sports specific classification in athletics took place at the INAS Global Games for the first time, which is part of the 2009 IPC and INAS agreement for inclusion of athletes with an intellectual (learning) disability in the London 2012 Paralympic Games
Special Olympics provides a competition pathway for people with intellectual (learning) disabilities to move from grassroots levels into elite disability sport levels, including the Paralympics.
Left-Right: George Holt, coach Andy Shard, Keven Shard
and mentor Chris Holleran at the Global Youth Summit
Special Olympics GB Athletes participate
at the 2011 INAS Global GamesAthletes learned to build their own wiki pages
George learned to record audio clips for his wiki page
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National Grid creates new £100K Sports Development Fund
Special Olympics GB announced at its Annual General Meeting the establishment of a £100K Sports Development Fund thanks to its Premier Partner National Grid. The funds will be used to support development within existing clubs and generate new clubs across the country.
According to the charity’s CEO Karen Wallin, “For nearly five years, National Grid has proven what its’ community programme can do for charities like Special Olympics GB.”
Special Olympics GB currently has 135 clubs across 19 regions of Great Britain. Each club can apply for up to £2,000 grants.
Andy Heffer, Special Olympics GB Director of Sports and Services, explained: “Establishing new Special Olympics programmes of the high quality that people with an intellectual (learning) disability deserve is not a simple or cheap process. The National Grid Development Fund will make a huge difference to our ability to grow and develop Special Olympics at local level.”
A Special Series of Books
National Grid’s Company Secretary and General Counsel, Helen Mahy has written and self-published three book series and Special Olympics GB received a donation of £1.50 per set sold.
The book’s author, added: I am delighted that sales of the books are going well. The more that are sold the more profits are made which all go to Special Olympics GB.”
The latest series published in December 2011, features a drawing by Special Olympics GB athlete Katie Day.
Left-right: Athlete Lee Penfold, National Grid’s Julian Buttery,
Special Olympics GB’s Board member Greg Silvester, Chairman
Murton Mann, CEO Karen Wallin, and athlete Fleur O’Donohue
National Grid’s Julian Buttery said, “We have been working with Special Olympics GB to see how we can create more opportunities for athletes and leave a lasting legacy. I am confident that these grants will provide new opportunities for current and future athletes in communities across GB.”
National Grid employees continue to power Special Olympics GB
The books are available from the
Special Olympics GB online shop
National Grid employees continue to power Special Olympics GB
On 21 June, over 20 National Grid employees volunteered and joined Special Olympics GB athletes to compete in the National Grid’s School Sports Spectacular Fundraiser Day, which included: Giant Egg & Spoon Race, Three Legged Race, Sack Race and a Giant Inflatable Obstacle Course. Over £3,500 was raised for the charity.
In summer 2011, a team of eight National Grid employees, that called themselves ‘Le Jog’ cycled 1000 miles in under 100 hours and raised nearly £7,000 for our charity. The cyclists completed the challenge by breaking into four different teams; keeping two riders moving at all times, even in the middle of the night!
Another exciting development in 2011 was the re-branding of the National Grid vehicle fleet from vans to lorries and bikes – now include the Special Olympics GB logo.
National Grid vans with Special Olympics GB logo
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In July 2011 CMS Cameron McKenna (CMS), the leading European provider of legal and tax services, announced Special Olympics GB as its Charity of the Year for 2011-2013.
“In CMS we are delighted to be supporting Special Olympics GB as our charity partner 2011/13. Our partnership has engaged people right across our UK offices, allowing them to volunteer and see at first-hand how Special Olympics transforms lives through sport. I am incredibly proud to say that our employees have also raised over £50,000 in just 8 months. I am looking forward to the next Special Olympics National Games in 2013 and continuing our burgeoning relationship with them.” Dick Tyler, CMS Senior Partner
CMS has planned two years of fundraising events to benefit Special Olympics GB. “Champions” in each CMS office in the UK have engaged their staff and help to coordinate interaction with local Special Olympics GB clubs.
Funds raised by CMS Cameron McKenna will be used for different initiatives including the appointment of a Special Olympics Inclusion Officer in London, establishing new club within the Olympic boroughs and introducing and managing new sports.
CMS Wear the Laces!
CMS Cameron McKenna employees across the UK and Europe wore the Special Olympics red laces in support of the charity on Thursday 10 November.
In London, CMS employees gathered in front of St Paul’s Cathedral; in Bristol, employees visited the Bristol Suspension Bridge; and the Edinburgh staff visited Edinburgh Castle, while Aberdeen employees meet at Queens Cross Roundabout.
CMS offices in Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Kyiv (Ukraine) Prague (Czech Republic), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Warsaw (Poland) also hosted Wear the Laces Day events on the same day as the GB offices.
Robert Powell, CMS’ Corporate Social Responsibility Manager said, “The laces are a really fun and simple way to raise awareness of our partnership with Special Olympics GB.”
CMS Cameron McKenna get creative for charity
From May to December 2011, CMS Cameron McKenna have raised over £50K for our charity. This staggering figure was raised through a wide variety of activities, which range from traditional fundraising efforts, such as: quiz nights, Christmas card and cake sales, auctions, to more creative and challenging events like: Trainees-Partner dress ups, Premier League Fantasy Football, Staff vs. Partners cricket match, an Office Olympics event, and The Battle of the Bands – that saw several music bands made of CMS employees performing in front of a panel of judges, and the CMS Scottish employees taking on the challenge to leave their upper lips unshaved for a month to fundraise for Special Olympics GB.
More CMS fundraising activities to highlight include: Over 70 CMS Cameron McKenna employees raced at the Morgan Chase Challenge, a 5.6km run held at Battersea Park in London on 6 July
48 CMS employees took on the Three Peaks Challenge and climbed the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours in July and raised nearly £20K.
In November, 11 employees from the CMS Tax Team did a non-stop 24 hour relay run through the streets of London.
CMS wore the laces to support Special Olympics!
Did you know?
Wear the Laces celebrates the unity of sport, its powerful ability to unite communities, capture attention and inspire goodwill. The laces are available to buy from the Special Olympics online shop for £2.
CMS employees climbed the three highest mountains
of GB and raised nearly £20k for our charity
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In November 2011, Coca-Cola Great Britain pledged £75,000 to support the further development of Special Olympics Unified Sports® programme in GB. The grant will help raise awareness of the innovative programme in GB and help increase participation in sport in 2012.
Jason Cornwell, Special Olympics GB’s Football and Unified Sports® Manager, said: “Coca-Cola GB has supported Special Olympics GB since 1978, and to have them supporting such an inclusive sports programme is fantastic! Thanks to this grant we can raise awareness, increase participation and give our athletes a more inclusive experience through sport.”
Coca-Cola Great Britain’s decision to support the development of this inclusive initiative followed after the European Unified Sports Conference held in Qawra, Malta (13-16 October 2011), where 19 Special Olympics national programmes identified common approaches for the strategic implementation of Unified Sports across their countries in view of the global strategy to increase Unified Sports opportunities.
“For the next 18 months, we will be mainly focusing on supporting the development of team based sports with a particular focus on football and basketball but also looking to develop in the longer term opportunities in sailing and cycling. If clubs do other team based sports, we will support them to create unified teams,” explained Jason.
What is Unified Sports®?
Special Olympics Unified Sports® brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to train and compete on the same team.
Unified Sports® provides opportunities for athletes and other participants to further develop their social skills through meaningful sporting interactions and also provides Special Olympics athletes with more sporting opportunities and encourages inclusion in the broader community.
The concept of combining athletes with intellectual disabilities and those without (called partners) was first introduced in the United States in the mid-1980s to provide another level of challenge for higher ability athletes and to promote equality and inclusion. Unified Sports competitions are an important part of Special Olympics World Games, as well as local, state and national Games.
Unified Sports enables athletes to:
•learnnewsports;
•develophigher-levelsports skills;
•havenewcompetitionexperiences;
•experiencemeaningfulinclusion as each athlete is ensured of playing a valued role on the team;
•socializewithpeersand form friendships (the programme provides a forum for positive social interaction between team-mates and often leads to long-lasting friendships);
•participateintheircommunities and have choices outside of Special Olympics Unified Sports programmes often are initiated by local schools and mainstream community sports organisations - These partnerships help to further include athletes in their community
“The important thing
about my Unified Sports
team is that it allows
my Special Olympics
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isolated, more part of
the community.” -Special
Olympics GB Coach
Coca-Cola support Special Olympics Unified Sports
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Domino’s customers donate their Pennies!
Special Olympics GB continued to benefit from Domino’s Pizza customers donations collected through Pennies, the new innovative online charity collection box. Since the launch of this fundraising channel in November 2010 our charity has received 75% of the money raised which is an incredible £175,000.
The money raised comes from a million donations made by Domino’s customers when placing an order via the Dominos website. Pennies, the electronic charity box, is designed to make giving to charity easy, quick and affordable. With one touch of a button shoppers can choose to round up their payment to the nearest pound when they pay by debit card, credit card or electronically. Overall, Domino’s customers have raised over £230,000, with 1p being the most common amount donated, demonstrating how quickly those pennies add up!
The funding will be used to reach out to more than 3,500 new young athletes, 1,000 of these severely learning disabled, with innovative projects over the next two years: the Motor Activity Training Programme (MATP®) -- a unique and bespoke activity for learning disabled people with profound impairments and a London 2012 Legacy Project – Project Unify designed to activate children and young people to be agents of change through Special Olympics GB sports and education programmes.
Special Olympics Athletes visit Domino’s Stores
Like in the previous year, in 2011 Special Olympics athletes visited Domino’s Pizza stores around GB. This is an experience that enriches both the athletes and the store staff; while our athletes learned to make pizza, Domino’s employees had the opportunity to meet - to many for the first time - a person with intellectual (learning) disabilities, thus these visits help to improve understanding about intellectual (learning) disabilities.
Susi Williams, Special Olympics Co-ordinator, said: “all the athletes enjoyed themselves. They had lots of fun learning how to make pizza and all the staff was friendly and made sure each one of the athletes received a personalised training.”
Domino’s Pizza entered a team in the Madsummer’s Dash for Special Olympics GB. The team cycled 439 miles from London to St. Andrews non-stop starting from 15-17 June, and raised £3,000 for the charity.
A Special Olympics Charity Pizza!
Official partner, Domino’s Pizza, continued showing its support to our athletes, as eight stores across Glasgow launched a limited edition charity pizza to raise funds for its local athletes competing at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens.
Powerlifter, Sylvia Moffat and Badminton champion, James Pert, visited the Domino’s Pizza store at Alexandra Parade in Glasgow, along with the 2011 GB Team head of delegation Gordon McCormack, to make and top the tasty new pizza called ‘SOGB’, coated with barbeque sauce and then topped with Sausage, Onions, Green peppers and Beef –forming the initials of the charity’s name: Special Olympics Great Britain.
£1 from every pizza sold was donated to the GB Team athletes from Special Olympics Scotland West.
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visited the Exmouth Domino’s Pizza store in Devon
In October Special Olympics GB sent 14 athletes to the
Borehamwood Domino’s store
Special Olympics Charity Pizza launched in GlasgowDomino’s Pizza helped raise over £175K donations
collected through Pennies
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Our corporate partners remain fully engaged with our volunteer programme with the number involved continuing to grow in 2011. Our partner organisations increasingly recognise employee volunteering as a key part of their support to our charity.
The impact made by corporate employee volunteers to local programmes has been very much appreciated. Here are some highlights:
Employees from Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE) in Peterborough supported Special Olympics North Cambridgeshire in a number of ways during 2011 including; raising over £3,000 to support local development through various fundraising initiatives, volunteering at a Come & Try horse riding evening and planning and organising a very special “Prom” for all the local athletes in the new year.
“Having never worked with any children or adults with learning disabilities my first week as a volunteer left me with a mixture of feelings. Emotional yet positive, mentally tired and aching feet are just a few but most of all a real sense of doing something worthwhile. Would I recommend people volunteer for the Special Olympics?… Absolutely!“ - Christy Straughan, CCE Employee
Nearly 20 employee volunteers from ABB in Stone supported the annual Sports Hall event in Stafford on 26 November 2011 attended by nearly 200 athletes, who took part in a number of events including the javelin, high step, speed bounce and standing long jump. The ABB employees were put to work as volunteer officials, as well as supporting other volunteers who also spare their time to organise and run the event.
“I am delighted that for the second year ABB’s employees volunteered at the competition in Stafford. They had fun and had a valuable role to play, which contributed to the success of the event. This shows that ABB in Stone continues to grow and develop its partnership with Special Olympics North Staffordshire club to benefit directly local learning disabled athletes.” - ABB’s Communications Manager, Karen Strong
ABB’s volunteers give instructions to
athletes at event in Stafford
Lions Clubs across England, Scotland and Wales have continued
to show their support by actively fundraising and volunteering at
Special Olympics clubs
As part of this growing relationship, Special Olympics GB was invited to the 60th Convention of Lions Multiple District 105, held in Belfast in May 2011 with nearly 2,000 people in attendance, and our National Volunteer Manager was on hand to raised awareness of the volunteer opportunities and support still needed.
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As we go to print we are delighted to announce that we currently have almost 1,500 runners taking part in the British 10k this July run as part of “Team Special Olympics GB”!
Over 750 places have been taken up by our corporate partners with over 200 employees from National Grid alone, led by CEO Steve Holiday. They are closely followed by CMS Cameron McKenna who have 150 runners signed up and are challenging their staff to sign up and reach 200 runners too.
Each runner has the goal of fundraising a minimum of £250, which we hope will raise over £250k for the organisation and in turn help us to reach out more people with intellectual (learning) disabilities across GB over the next two years.
The charity’s ambassadors double Olympic Gold medallist Darren Campbell MBE, football pundit Chris Kamara, alongside Football Legend Ray Wilkins and former Hull Manager Phil Brown, Olympic Bronze medallist Katharine Merry, World Champion and Olympic Canoeist Anna Hemmings, Olympic and BBC’s Ski Sunday Graham Bell with singer Heather Small formerly of M People, have pledged their support to the event, while a team of 10 Special Olympics athletes from across the country will also take to the streets!
Darren Campbell MBE said; “The race route is absolutely fantastic – I can’t wait! The chance to run safely through the heart of the capital past all your favourite landmarks with 25,000 others who are all having a great time is truly immense.
Special Olympics do some amazing work in offering sporting opportunities to people with intellectual (learning) disabilities so it really is a great cause to be running for.”
The 10k race has sold out for the past six years and with over 25,000 runners expected this year, the 2012 event set to be such a special occasion, interest is expected to be higher than ever.
You can also make a donation to Special Olympics GB www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk/support-us_individual-giving/
Special Olympics GB chosen as Official Charity for 2012 British 10K London
If you wish to support “Team Special Olympics” runners there are still volunteer opportunities available on the day at cheer points, drinks points, baggage area, photography and much more please contact Clarisse Lang on 0207 375 7618, if you are interested in getting involved.
Support the “Team Special Olympics GB”
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Special Olympics Clubs receive Clubmark
We were delighted that our Special Olympics clubs in Redditch and Stafford were awarded the Sport England Clubmark accreditation for achieving high quality standards in the managing of the club, care and safeguarding and protecting children and young people as well as knowledge of the community it serves.
Clive Gibson, Special Olympics Stafford secretary, explained: “I do feel that in completing the Clubmark accreditation there were parts of the learning which showed where we were achieving most, but where we needed to build on others. The whole process is positive in leading the clubs forward in what we provide for our athletes.”
Farewell
In 2011, the world mourned the loss of Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. who died in 18 January. Husband of 56 years to the late founder of Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Sargent was Chairman of the Board Emeritus for Special Olympics and served as president of the Special Olympics Movement from 1984 through 1996 before his son, Timothy P. Shriver took the helm as current Chairman and CEO.
Special Olympics GB’s Vice-President Paul Anderson said: “Working with Sargent has been the highlight of my life. I travelled the length and breadth of Europe to establish programmes for Special Olympics which is now in 200 countries. He changed the attitude and quality of life of those who had been up until that time kept in institutions in many European countries. He was a truly outstanding ambassador for human dignity.”
We also said farewell and paid our respects to some of our long standing volunteers, including Ray Stead (unified partner and coach of Special Olympics South East Hampshire), Louvain Allen (Lions Clubs International), Kevin Prenzlau (coach of Special Olympics Hastings & Rother) and Michael Horen (coach from South East Cheshire)
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Special Olympics Birmingham 25th Anniversary
Volunteers, athletes and families celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Special Olympics City of Birmingham with a lively reception held at Sutton Coldfield Football Club on 17 September. During the celebration a picture’ slideshow was shown drawing back many great memories. Organisers gave a special thank you to Maria and Adrian Lyttle who started the club a quarter-century ago.
The world mourned the loss of Robert Sargent Shriver
Special Olympics Great Britain: Transforming Lives through Sport
Special Olympics Great Britain, Corinthian House, 1st Floor, 6-8 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3NT Website: www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk
Registered in accordance with the Charities Act 1960 no. 800329
