January Ezine 2022

Firstly, I want to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy and Healthy New Year. I do hope you got the opportunity to switch off and spend some quality time with your loved ones over the holiday period.

Athlete Una Coates, who is taking part in RTÉ’s Operation Transformation as an online leader, is helping to kick the New Year off in a healthy direction. Una is not only the first Special Olympics athlete to feature in Operation Transformation but she is also the first person with an intellectual disability to do so. Read on to find out more about Una and how you can get involved.

Our offices are open as of January 4th and whilst we continue to follow Government recommendations by working remotely, we are working hard on planning and implementing campaigns and events to help support you, our community, over the coming year. Our events calendar is live on our website here and we look forward to offering you many opportunities to get involved and support athletes in your community. We hope our schedule will not be so impacted by Covid in 2022.

We are excited at the prospects of getting out and about over the coming weeks, 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. If you need support getting your club back up and running, we have some more information below and please do remember that you can reach out to us directly here. Furthermore, we are pleased to say that we secured some limited funding from Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland to help clubs get back on their feet and your local Regional Office will liaise with you in this regard in terms of the process to apply for funding.

In spite of all the challenges the past two years have thrown at us, our community is stronger than ever so Let’s Get Back to Sport, together, because we know we still have so much to achieve on behalf of our athletes, We Can’t Stop Now!

Matt

Matt English,

CEO, Special Olympics Ireland

#CantStopNow #LetsGetBack

Una steals the show on Operation Transformation

Una who trains out of Metro South Bowling Club and Stewarts Care is one of this year's online leaders for Operation Transformation 2022. The hit show presented on RTÉ One, inspires the nation to focus on their health and fitness and set themselves goals to improve their overall wellbeing. 



With sport and health at the forefront of what we do here at Special Olympics Ireland, we are delighted to support Una on this exciting journey where she is being an advocate for her own health. We believe that Una will be an inspiration to many athletes across the island of Ireland.



We would love as many people as possible to follow Una and support her on this journey.