Success for Special Olympics first virtual All Ireland Athlete Leadership Forum

Saturday 17th October was a historic day as the largest Athlete Leadership forum to date was moved online. A packed conference room was replaced by rows and rows of smiling faces on Zoom as athlete leaders, programme coordinators and volunteers all logged in for their morning and afternoon sessions.

 

Athlete Leadership encourages athletes to develop skills that will empower them to be advocates for all athletes and act as a leader for Special Olympics. The training helps athletes to build on their confidence and self-esteem and encourages them to contribute to the organisation in a wider context.

For the 2020 forum, three athlete leaders played a huge part in helping craft and coordinate the plan of action for the day- a perfect example of athletes representing their peers and contributing to a program that directly benefits those involved.

Nicole Redmond (Stillorgan Eagles Special Olympics Club), Audrey Hutton (Carlow Special Olympics Club) and Wayne O’Callaghan (Ballincollig Special Olympics Club) worked closely with the Special Olympics and Bank of America team to design workshops and activities that would be informative and engaging in an online setting.

Throughout the day athletes took part in four separate workshops:

• Good Money Habits- with Bank of America
• Tai Chi- with Sparkle.ie and Tai Chi Your Way
• Mock Interviews
• Round Table Discussions

The morning kicked off with a welcome from Special Olympics Ireland CEO, Matt English. ‘Good leaders will always adapt to change, and this year has been full of changes. It’s fantastic to see so many athletes taking part as this programme grows every year”.



Bank of America have been global partners of the Special Olympics brand since 2003. The company has been working closely with Special Olympics Ireland and became the title sponsor of the Athlete Leadership Programme this year.

Joan Brown is Global Market Risk Technology and a volunteer with Special Olympics Ireland:



"It's always such pleasure being involved with the Special Olympics programme. I lead one of the Better Money Habits workshop on behalf of Bank of America and I love spending face to face time with the athletes. We work through examples and exercises to help them gain a solid understanding of their financial habits. Everyone leaves with life-long skills and feeling motivated for the future.



I love the fact I can take my professional knowledge and use it in a volunteering capacity. We always have a great laugh and I relish every opportunity I have to be involved"

- Joan Brown

Vice President, Global Market Risk Technology

2020 has presented many challenges but they have been accompanied by opportunities. Holding a virtual forum led to greater athlete attendance without the barriers of travel and logistics. We look forward to seeing this programme grow again next year.