Special Olympics New York - Genesee Region: February 2010

FYI:
Our very own Adolph Dupree will be singing the National Anthem at this weekends Amerk's game. The Amerk's will play the Portland Pirates on Sunday February 21, 2010. Face-off is at 3:00pm and the National Anthem will be just before face-off. Go and check it out if you can.

As usual, if you have any questions feel free to contact me using the information provided at the bottom of this report.

Thanks,

Josh Dority
Program Specialist
Special Olympics New York

2010 State Games Recap

Check out these links for photos, video and results from the 2010 Winter State Games in Syracuse, New York....

View Winter Games Opening Ceremonies Photo's

View Winter Games Competition Pictures

View Video Clips From The Games

View Winter State Games Results

Special Olympics Athletes Featured in Commercial

In case you haven't seen it, Special Olympics athletes have been featured in a television commercial created by The Coca-Cola Company. The commercial originally aired on February 12th during Opening Ceremonies and will continue to run throughout coverage of the Olympics in the U.S. and Canada. The theme of the commercial is supporting Olympic dreams.

In the commercial, Special Olympics athletes Paul Nimmich (SO South Carolina) and Ben Purcell (SO Ireland) are shown receiving medals.

To further extend their support, Coca-Cola is allowing their customers to donate their My Coke Rewards points to Special Olympics through February 28th! Visit the site for more info.

Spread the Word to End the R-word

Special Olympics New York's SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD campaign developed from Project UNIFY and the efforts of our youth advocates.

This campaign has been created to raise awareness about the hurtful effects of using the word "retarded" to refer to people with intellectual disabilities. Although we have made great progress with educating our youth and communities on the impacts of such language, the change is too slow. Each use of the R-word as a synonym for a stupid action, a schoolyard taunt, or the punch line of a joke, slows our progress immeasurably.

To combat the usage of such derogatory language, Special Olympics New York is recognizing March as its awareness month for SPREAD THE WORD TO END THE WORD, with March 3rd being the official statewide kick off. Throughout the month, youth and friends of our global movement will be hosting rallies and encouraging members of their communities to take the pledge to stop using the "R-word" in a deeming manner.

The New York pledge and more information on events occurring throughout the state can be found athttp://www.nyso.org/spreadtheword.php.

World Games Volunteer Opportunities

Special Olympics is requesting nominations for volunteer sport officials for the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece, 25 June - 4 July 2011.

The following sport competitions will be conducted for 7,000 athletes around the world.

Aquatics          Athletics          Badminton      Basketball       Bocce              Bowling

Cycling            Equestrian      Football           Golf                 Gymnastics      Judo

Kayaking          Powerlifting    Rollerskating   Sailing             Softball            Table Tennis

Handball          Tennis             Volleyball        Beach Volleyball

International and/or National Sport Federation Officials' Certification, if issued by the sport, and/or Special Olympics officiating experience is required for all applicants for officials' assignments at the 2011 World Summer Games. The majority of the competition technical officials will be recruited, trained and selected from the host country. However, expenses associated with airfare, accommodations, ground transportation and meals will be provided for only a limited number of selected officials from Programs outside of Greece and Special Olympics athletes participating as qualified officials (SOOPA) and their mentors.

Application forms can be downloaded at http://info.specialolympics.org/2011worldgamesofficials

The application form must be received no later than April 1, 2010. The processing of application forms will begin immediately, thereafter.

Submit Completed Applications and Supplemental Documentation to Email address:

Worldgamesofficials@specialolympics.org

An auto response from this email address should confirm receipt of the application.

5th Annual Kirch Conference

Wednesday
March 24, 2010

Hyatt Regency Rochester

Planning and Living the Transition Years:
Balancing Health, Relationships, Recreation, and Independence
for Youth and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities

The Kirch Conference is presented annually to honor Andrew J. Kirch. Its mission is to bring information about developmental disabilities to individuals with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who work with them. This year's conference focuses on wellness and developing healthy lifestyles for transition age individuals with developmental disabilities. We are particularly honored that the Golisano Foundation is supporting the Timothy Shriver, Ph.D. keynote that will focus on health
and wellness for athletes with developmental disabilities.

Timothy Shriver, Ph.D.
Keynote Speaker
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Special Olympics International
Sponsored by the Golisano Foundation

Timothy P. Shriver, Chairman of the Special Olympics for 14 years, serves 3.1 million Special Olympics athletes and their families in 175 countries. Shriver has helped transform Special Olympics into a movement that focuses on respect, acceptance, and inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities in all corners of the globe. He launched the organization's most ambitious growth agenda leading to the recruitment of over 2 million new athletes around the world. He has created new Special Olympics initiatives in athlete leadership, cross-cultural research, health, education, and family support, and has worked to garner more legislative attention and government

Upcoming Events

Region North Aquatics

Saturday
March 6, 2010

Adapted Athlete Registration Begins: 8:30am
Athlete Registration Begins: 9:30am

Webster Aquatics Center
875 Ridge Rd.
Webster 14580

The deadline to register for this event is Friday February 19, 2010.

Region South Bowling

Friday
March 5, 2010

Saturday
March 6, 2010

Friday Athlete Registration Begins: 3:00pm
Saturday Athlete Registration Begins: 12:00pm

Rossi Lanes
410 West Washington Ave.
Elmira 14901

The deadline to register for this event is Friday February 19, 2010.

Regional Basketball

Saturday
March 20, 2010

Athlete Registration Begins: 10:00am

Sodus High School
54 Mill St.
Sodus 14551

The deadline to register for this event is Friday March 5, 2010.

Regional Junior Bowling

Monday
March 29, 2010

Athlete Registration Begins: 8:30am

Roseland Bowl
4357 Recreation Dr.
Canandaigua 14424

The deadline to register for this event is Friday March 12, 2010.

Future Events

Regional Bowling
Saturday April 10, 2010

Unified Volleyball

Monday's April 19th, 26th and May3rd

Super Regional Basketball
Saturday April 24, 2010

Calendar of Events

Our full calendar of events is available online:

Just Click Here!

And get dates, flyers and registration forms for events around the Genesee Region.

Training Club Meetings

Coaches

As part of our continued commitment to improving Program we have been conducting individual training club meetings. We will meet with clubs that plan to participate in the upcoming sports season. During the meeting the head coach/coaches will meet with one of our program team and we can discuss the following:

Rosters for the upcoming season.
Registration requirements and deadlines.
Medical and Consent Form needs.
Training Club issues (things that we can do to improve your Special Olympics experience).
Equipment needs.
Conference registration details.
Sports rules changes.

If you wish to schedule a time for us to come and meet you please e-mail Rob Mitchell (rmitchell@nyso.org) or Joshua Dority (jdority@nyso.org).

Young Athletes

SONY LI Athletes

Young Athletes is an innovative sports play program for children ages 2-7 with intellectual disabilities, designed to introduce them to the world of sports prior to Special Olympics eligibility (age 8). This is a fun, participation-based program that teaches eye-hand coordination and motor skills through games and group activities. The Young Athletes program introduces children with intellectual disabilities and their families to the world of Special Olympics by pursuing the following goals:

Engage children with intellectual disabilities through developmentally appropriate play activities designed to foster physical, cognitive, and social development.
Welcome family members of children with intellectual disabilities to the Special Olympics network of support.
Raise awareness about the abilities of children with intellectual disabilities through inclusive peer participation, demonstrations and other events.

This is a versatile program that can work in various learning situations. The program is designed to be simple enough for families to use at home with their child. It is also appropriate for preschools, schools, playgroups and recreation programs to use with small groups of young children.

The program includes several resources to get started including a Young Athletes Activities Guide, a Training DVD, Young Athletes Equipment Kit and and website for further resources, materials and information.

For more information on how to get started or a list of locations already participating around the region please email Rob Mitchell at rmitchell@nyso.org.