LEINSTER CLUB NEWSLETTER

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As always, please keep in touch and let us know what is going on in your club. We are looking forward to seeing everyone throughout the year!

1 LEINSTER CLUB NEWSLETTER Special Olympics Leinster September 2018 Welcome back! We hope you have enjoyed your summer break and a well earned rest after a busy year! The Leinster Office is in full swing and the coming sporting year will be jam packed with lot of events for athletes and coach education for volunteers. As always, please keep in touch and let us know what is going on in your club. We are looking forward to seeing everyone throughout the year! If your club has an event and you would like to tell other clubs about it, send us an article and a few pictures! We would love to hear from you! In This Issue Information Sessions 2 Fundraising 3 Annual Affiliation 4 Athlete Leadership 5 Athlete Article 6 Awards Night 7 Calendar of Events 8 Coaching Calendar 9 Liverpool FC 10 Volunteer Spotlight 11

2 Information Sessions As we all prepare to start back into our 2018/19 season we would like to invite you to attend a club information session. This year, as always, we will have a number of events and leagues on offer to you and your athletes. During these information sessions we will discuss league formats, present the 2018/19 event calendar, provide some important club information and get feedback from yourselves on what we can improve on going forward into this year. We would strongly advise all clubs to be represented at these meetings in order to have your clubs opinions heard and to get a first-hand look at the calendar for the year. The meetings will be held in the following locations on the following dates; Meeting 1 (NL) Meeting 2 (SL) Meeting 3 (SL) Venue Sluagh Hall, Drogheda CWCW, Enniscorthy McMahon Centre, Kilcullen County Co. Louth Co. Wexford Co. Kildare Date 03/09/ /09/ /09/2018 Time 7pm-8.30pm 7pm-8.30pm 7pm-8.30pm * Please click on the following link to confirm your clubs attendance at these meeting; 2018/19 Clubs Information Evening We are looking forward to hearing back from you all and getting our 2018/19 season kicked off!

Scaffolding on September 30th. Departing Tullamore Harriers, you and your friends have the chance to cycle with legendary world cycle champion Sean Kelly as the Sportiff winds its way through Co.

3 FUNDRAISING! Sean Kelly Tour of the Midlands Cycle September 30 th We are delighted to have been selected as the chosen charity for the 6 th Annual Sean Kelly Tour of the Midlands Cycle sponsored by Swift Scaffolding on September 30th. Departing Tullamore Harriers, you and your friends have the chance to cycle with legendary world cycle champion Sean Kelly as the Sportiff winds its way through Co. Offaly and Co. Laois whilst taking in the breath-taking Sliabh Bloom Mountains. Three routes are available for advanced (120km), intermediate (90km) and junior (80km) cyclists with a family friendly 10km cycle also available. All cyclists who register will receive a free Sean Kelly Tour of the Midlands t-shirt and any cyclist who raises 100 or over for Special Olympics will receive a bespoke Sean Kelly Tour of the Midlands cycle jersey. For more information on the event please click here or for more information on how you can get involved, please contact eoin.treanor@specialolympics.ie Annual Collection Day 2019 CONFIRMED! Collection Day 2019 will take place on April 5th, please save the date!

4 Annual Affiliation THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!! September is the start of Annual Affiliation for the coming year. For those of you who are new to the process, don t worry it is simple enough! In the coming days, your club contact will receive an containing the following: Names and APF expiry of all athletes Names of all registered volunteers List of committee and their positions List of all coaches and their qualifications List of everyone s safeguarding certificate number When you get the list, you simply verify it. If an athlete or volunteer is no longer in your club, you put a line through their name. If there is an athlete or volunteer not listed, you write them on the sheet with their ID number. If there is a coach not listed or a qualification missing for someone, you write it in the appropriate space on the sheet. When this information is sent back to the office, our database will be updated to reflect the most current information we have on your club. Based on the information submitted, an invoice will be generated for your club. If you have any questions relating to annual affiliation or if you need any assistance during this period, please do not hesitate to contact Nuala in the office on or nuala.odonovan@specialolympics.ie

5 Athlete Leadership ALL IRELAND FORUM We are delighted to offer 15 Athlete Leaders from Leinster the Opportunity to attend the All Ireland Athlete Leader Forum. Anyone who would like to be considered for this opportunity should contact Nuala for an application form. Forum Content Date Location Duration Interested? Making a difference October 13th Red Cow Moran 9am 4pm Contact Nuala ATHLETE LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP November will see a Saturday afternoon workshop for all Leinster Athlete Leaders. There will be two workshops Being and Asset to your Club and Coach as well as Communication. Save the Date for now and registration forms will be sent Mid September. Workshop Contents Date Location Duration Entry Deadline Communication & Being an asset to your club and coach November 11th Portarlington Community Centre 11am 4pm October 31st

6 Athlete Article Saoirse Keogh and Dale O Neill would sincerely like to thank Raymond Flynn Of Flynn s Garage Tullow Co Carlow. Raymond allowed us to deliver a speech and presentation from Dale and a presentation from Saoirse, at his business premises on Thursday 26th July Dale s speech was to introduce himself and talk about his experience of been a athlete in Carlow Special Olympics Sports Club. Dale s presentation was on how much Carlow Special Olympics Sports Club has grown over the last 4 years. The presentation also included the athletes from Carlow Club who represented Leinster in the Ireland games in June this year. Saoirse s presentation was about the Athletes Leadership Program, what it is about and the benefits of been involved in the program. Saoirse explained about the workshops and how important they are in building confidence. Saoirse explained also how not only does the athlete benefit but also the community and local business s. Raymond was very impressed with both Of us (Saoirse and Dale ) he said we are very good ambassadors for Special Olympics and he is happy to support our Athlete Leaders. Before leaving Raymond presented both myself and Dale with a voucher for a 14 pizza each for doing such a good job we are thrilled. He wish us all the best for our future with Carlow Special Olympics Sports Club. We are very happy thanks Ray (Written by Saoirse Keogh, Carlow Special Olympic Club)

League Awards Night Athletes who took part in Leagues or who submitted Athlete Leadership Books for award are invited to the Special Olympics Annual Awards Night.

7 League Awards Night Athletes who took part in Leagues or who submitted Athlete Leadership Books for award are invited to the Special Olympics Annual Awards Night. This is a fantastic event not to be missed by any athlete who is eligible to attend. All clubs have been sent a list of eligible athletes. If you have any questions about the awards night, please contact Aoife on Aoife.reilly@specialolympics.ie

8 Calendar of Events September Date Event Time Location 3rd League Information Session 7pm 8.30pm Drogheda 5th League Information Session 7pm 8.30pm Enniscorthy 6th League Information Session 7pm 8.30pm Kilcullen 22nd Bowling League Final 10am 1pm Kbowl Naas 22nd Fundraising Cops & Donuts Tullamore 30th Fundraising Sean Kelly Cycle Tour October Tullamore 6th Fundraising Cops & Donuts Newbridge 8th Golf Development Day 10am 3pm The Curragh 13th All Ireland Athlete leadership Forum 9am 4pm Red Cow Moran Hotel 20th Fundraising Cops & Donuts Dundalk 20th/21st Coaching Weekend 10am 5pm IT Carlow 24th Annual League Awards Night 6pm 10pm City North Hotel November 3rd Floorball Blitz Day 10am 3pm Portarlington 7th & 8th Bocce Regional Event 9am 4pm The Watershed, Kilkenny 11th Athlete Leadership Workshop 11am 3pm Special Olympics HQ, Dublin 25th Swimming Event 9am 5pm The Curragh December 1st Polar Plunge Cloghedhead 1st Anthems for Athletes Dundalk 6th MATP Event 10am 3pm IT Carlow 8th Floorball Blitz Day 10am 3pm Portarlington 8th Anthems for Athletes Newbridge 8th Polar Plunge Rosslare

9 Upcoming Coaching Courses September Date Course Level Price Location Website 2nd Football FAI National D Licence 4th Football Youth Intro Cootehill FAI Cherry Orchard, Dublin 5th Safeguarding Level 1 20 Navan, Meath Meath LSP 6th Football FAI National D Licence 90 8th Safeguarding Level 2 N/A 8th Football Referee Beginners Course Cherry Orchard, Dublin Special Olympics Office-Abbotstown FAI FAI nuala.odonovan@spe cialolympics.ie 100 FAI HQ, Dublin FAI 8th 9th Football Kick Start 2 75 Wexford FAI 9th Basketball Intro TBC Drogheda 12th Safeguarding Table Tennis - Level 1 15 Clondalkin Leisure Centre droghedabu llets@gmail.com irishtabletennis 12th Safeguarding Table Tennis - Level 2 15 Clondalkin Leisure Centre irishtabletennis 14th 15th 16th Basketball Level 1 TBC Drogheda droghedabu llets@gmail.com 19th 26th Football Kick Start 1 45 Thomastown, Kilkenny FAI 20th Safeguarding Level 2 20 Navan, Meath Meath LSP 26th Football 7V7 Workshop 25 Ashtown, Dublin FAI 30th Football 7V7 Workshop 25 Tullamore, Offaly FAI

10 Liverpool FC Some of our football athletes were lucky enough to get the chance to train with some members of Liverpool FC during the summer. Following the training session, all athletes received a ticket to attend a match in the Aviva Stadium!

Volunteer Spotlight on Megan Garry Megan tell us a little about yourself. Hello, my name is Megan Garry and I have been volunteering with Special Olympics for the last 3 years.

What club do you volunteer with and what do you enjoy most? I volunteer with Navan Arch Club which is the best decision I have ever made!

11 Volunteer Spotlight on Megan Garry Megan tell us a little about yourself. Hello, my name is Megan Garry and I have been volunteering with Special Olympics for the last 3 years. During these 3 years I have been so privileged to have been involved in some of the most amazing experiences of my life and to have met such amazing people during these experiences. What club do you volunteer with and what do you enjoy most? I volunteer with Navan Arch Club which is the best decision I have ever made!! Its so hard to choose what I enjoy most as we do so much in the club! I suppose the best part is getting to know the guys and just having the craic with them! They bring so much love and enjoyment to my life and have completely changed my outlook on life since I met them when I joined the club!! What is something very few people know about you? I m sure this is hard to believe I was actually a really shy and quiet person until I joined Navan Arch and got involved in Special Olympics but I can t say that I am anymore. What motivated you to get involved with Special Olympics? My neighbour Mary asked me to join Navan Arch with her and I went along and that was it I was hooked from the very beginning!! What has been your standout moment? My standout moment was definitely the 2018 games! I knew that this was going to such an amazing experience as you can see from the photos the countdown had been on for over 250 days and one of many t-shirts, but I just didn t realise how much of an amazing experience this would be!!! I m already looking forward to the next one!!! During the games I was so lucky to work as a coach for swimming and was privileged to work alongside some of the most amazing swimmers in the country!! I was so proud of each of the athletes at the games as they all worked so hard and performed so well during the games! What has been your biggest learning from volunteering? My biggest learning from volunteering is that we take so much for granted. I see the athletes joy at the simplest of things like a disco or even a quick cup of tea after a match. These simple things in life mean so much to them but are things that we wouldn t even think twice about! One other thing that has opened my eyes is how they look out for each other even when playing in opposition to each other, this is something that I find really heart-warming and I think really sums up Special Olympics!!

Special Olympics Leinster, If you have an article that

or an athlete that would like to include their own piece

12 Special Olympics Leinster, If you have an article that you would like to be included in the October newsletter or an athlete that would like to include their own piece please contact Nuala O Donovan at nuala.odonovan@specialolympics.ie Phone: Nuala.odonovan@specialolympi cs.ie home.aspx

Hurling The Greatest game in the World

Hurling The Greatest game in the World National Hurling Development Manager Support & Encourage people that wish to play or coach Hurling Give as many people as possible the opportunity to play the game.