About Special Olympics Leinster
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Non Advancement Equestrian Event Congratulations to all of our athletes who competed in the Equestrian event on the 11th of April in Pitfield, Castledermot. The event saw almost 20 athletes competing in both Equitation and the Trail Ride. It was a very enjoyable day for all involved. For more photos from the day please click HERE. Regional Advancement Floorball Special Olympics Leinster hosted their first ever Regional Advancement Floorball event on Saturday the 30th of March in the Watershed Kilkenny. Over 100 athletes competed with 14 different teams on the day to showcase their skill and talent. This is the first time that the Leinster Region will be aiming to advance through the Special Olympics Winter Cycle and we look forward to seeing what it has in store for our athletes.
A huge congratulations to the 9 Leinster athletes who represented Ireland at The Special Olympics World Summer Games which took place in in March.
Huge Congrats to all of our nine athletes that competed at the World Special Olympic games which took place in Abu Dhabi. The number of medals that our athletes brought home was an amazing total of 13, with 5 of them being gold. See below all of our athletes that competed. A huge mention to all of the coaches that travelled with the athletes to Abu Dhabi, and spent months training and coaching the athletes. Their hard work and dedication paid off. A huge thank you to all of the family members. Without their support and dedication to the athletes none of it would have been possible.
Damien Breslin
South Offaly SOC
Swimming
Lucy Dollard
Kilkenny SOC
Athletics
John Doyle
SOC Gorey Area
Badminton
Mark Sadler
Bowling
Padraig Reilly
KARE
Conor Byrne
Equestrian
Lisa Redmond
Wexford SOC
Gymnastics Artistic
Oisin Feery
Ballinamere School
Kayaking
Francie Power
Navan Arch Club
Table Tennis
ANNUAL REGIONAL MEETING The Special Olympics Leinster Annual Regional Meeting was held on April 2nd in the Special Olympics offices in Blanchardstown.
Over 30 people from Clubs throughout Leinster were in attendance and were warmly welcomed by master of ceremonies for the evening and athlete representative on the Regional Committee Audrey Hutton. Regional Chairperson Carolyn Jones acknowledged the fantastic performance of the athletes at both the Ireland and World Games. This was due to the quality coaching and training received locally within their Clubs.
A highlight of the year was the Coaches Forum where 162 courses were completed by 72 volunteers and four athlete leadership workshops that provided leadership training to over 80 athletes. Athlete leaders Deidre Nevin and Fiona Brady along with the mentors Mary Davitt and Karen Kinahan presented the audience with overviews on the achievements over the last year and the focus areas for 2019 for Clubs and Fundraising. Participants contributed to feedback on Sports 2020 Coaching requirements, Volunteer needs and fundraising challenges from clubs perspective.
The 2021-2025 organisation strategy was the core message from the organisation and the roll out of the need for input and collaboration from all stakeholders to ensure that strategy met the needs of the athletes, the volunteers and the future of the organisation. THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO ATTENDED ON THE EVENING
GALA HALL OF FAME AWARD
The Gala Hall of Fame Award was presented to Kilkenny Special Olympics Club on February 14th. This award is awarded to clubs who embody the spirit, enthusiasm, drive and attitude of Special Olympics Ireland. On the night athletes, parents and volunteers were delighted to welcome along Christopher Curtin from Gala and John De Loughry from the local Gala store with a special Kilkenny welcome going to their great supporter Kilkenny Hurling Manager Brian Cody. Kilkenny Special Olympics Club was founded in February 2010 with 29 athletes and today has 50 athletes competing in six sports: Athletics, Bocce, Gymnastics, Kayaking, Pitch & Putt and Swimming. The club in the past six months have expanded to include the Young Athletes Programme and on the night young children aged from 4 - 7 years showed their prowess and development through their participation in the fundamental movement skills of throwing, catching, jumping and balancing. Athlete Lucy Dollard will be representing the club in March at the World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi. BEST OF LUCK LUCY !!!!
____________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION TO ATHLETE LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP February 16th saw eighteen athletes along with 14 mentors attend an Introduction to Athlete Leadership workshop in Special Olympics Ireland HQ. Drogheda Toastmasters delivered a workshop on Public Speaking whilst Audrey Hutton, athlete leader and Regional Committee member presented on getting involved in Athlete Leadership. She spoke about her own experiences and the benefits she has attained through Athlete Leadership. The day was a fantastic success and we hope to see many of those athletes that attended become Athlete Leaders themselves in the near future.