New South Wales
Welcome to the Blues Informer. We hope you all enjoy the monthly newsletter that is to assist in the communication to all Regions, Volunteers, Athletes & Parents within NSW. We hope you look forward to receiving this newsletter each month.
2012 Shoalhaven Games Congratula ons to all involved with the State Games. This event has taken NSW to an even higher level. The feedback received has been very good and the appropriate debriefing and surveys will now be developed. From the many, many families spoken to and the majority of the comments that were given were very posi ve and a lot of thanks given. Comments on Facebook, calls from Regions and emails received give the indica on this concept is popular, the Shoalhaven is a great place to visit and to keep these games coming and make them bigger and be er. Taking the Games Opening Ceremony to the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre gave the athletes, supporters and our guests a wonderful experience. We have set a new standard in regards to ceremonies. The athlete dinner and dance was tre-
mendous. Over 440 people crammed into the Bomaderry RSL for the dinner dance. Since the games there have had two meetings with the Bomaderry RSL Club on ways to improve this, such as the line posi on and as we now know the me to feed everyone, the venue arrival me per sport can be given in advance. A big thanks to Special Olympics Mid North Coast Sports Coordinator Kenn Brown and his ban “Copper Frog” The band was brilliant and something we should con nue. It was par cularly pleasing in which the way the spor ng clubs embraced us and a number have asked already about dates for next year. Football waived the cost of referees and lunches in a most generous offer. Two sponsors have come forward with ideas to make the event bigger and for them to play a role in the lead up to and during the
games and increase their financial support. What we have now is a great pla orm to build from for 2013 in Shoalhaven. We have developed rela onships with local spor ng groups, with the media, with Council, with volunteer groups (e.g. Shoalhaven Photographic Club) and our athletes and supporters have become familiar with the area. 225 Special Olympics Athletes competed in Aqua cs, Basketball, Football, Golf & Tennis and were supported by their family, friends, & volunteers and all who a ended enjoyed a wonderful experience in the Shoalhaven. A lot of people should be recognised for all of this to happen and we would like to acknowledge the Athletes, SONSW Regions, Volunteers, supporters, State GOC, SONSW Board, LETR, sponsors and most of all thank you to Shoalhaven City Council for hos ng us. We do look forward to returning in 2013.
Like us on Facebook - search “Special Olympics NSW” SPECIAL OLYMPICS NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Golf Centre, PO Box 62, Concord West NSW 2138 T 61 2 8889 3606
NSW BOARD MEMBERS Peter Wren Chairman
Peter Langthorne
Adam Bannon
Dipen Dhruv
Ange Clarke
Mike Williamson
Trin Taber
Mary Greig
Secretary
Treasurer
Board Member
Board Member
ALPS Coordinator
Sports Coordinator
Vice Chairman
Together with a Gymnas cs Judge accredita on, this has kept me busy and has led me to the World of Special Mary Greig Olympics. Having a business State Sports Coordinator career in a leading Australian SONSW Company I have been able to combine sport and busiThis month we profile Mary ness principles within Special Olympics in NSW, Australia Greig, Special Olympics NSW State Sports Coordina- and Interna onally. tor. I am proud to boast that I am Having found Special Olym- in my second term of represen ng Australia and Asia pics for my son just on 20 years ago, I saw the need to Pacific on the Interna onal Sports Rules Advisory Combecome involved too and undertook coaching courses mi ee as well as the State in Athle cs, Tenpin Bowling Sports Coordinator. and Bocce in order to pro- I have been fortunate to hold vide proper training for the Head of Delega on posi ons for the first two Australian athletes in our region.
Invita onal Teams to New Zealand as well as for NSW for the first two Junior Naonal Games, Head Coach posi ons for Australia at the World Games in Ireland, China and Greece for Tenpin Bowling and Athle cs and for NSW at several Na onal Games. My family is involved in Special Olympics as well and together with our world of Special Olympics friends we are commi ed volunteers working to ensure every Special Olympics athlete, regardless of their ability, obtains friendship, enjoyment and dignity through the spor ng opportuni es offered.
Welcome to SONSW cial Olympics makes him the perfect team member to join us in raising funds and awareness for SO NSW through new partnerships and funding across the state. We are sure you will become familiar with Andy in the coming months.
NEW SONSW Fundraising Being a leading expert on asand Partnerships Manager socia on football in AustraThe SONSW Board is pleased to announce the recruitment of Andrew (Andy) Paschalidis to the posi on of SONSW Fundraising and Partnerships Manager. Andy’s knowledge of sport and his support and passion for Spe-
lia, Andy has had many commenta ng s nts with various television and radio sta ons, most notably Fox Sports (Australia), between 1995-2003. Andy began his media career at Australian & Bri sh Soccer Weekly in 1983 before working freelance at the Special
Broadcas ng Service in 1984 and taking up a full- me posi on in October 1986. Andy also had a two-year s nt with leading Sydney radio sta on 2GB in 1985/86. Andy Paschalidis is currently the host of Sky Sports Radio’s Premier League coverage. He presents up to five games of Live Premier League each weekend, as well as the staons Premier League at Five Program airing Monday to Friday at 5am. He also has a regular spot at 7.25am on Sky Sports Radios Big Sports Breakfast program.
Ellena Morris Board Member
Jason Nelson Board Member
From the Chair Peter Wren Regional Chairs Mee ng The Board is pleased to announce that the Regional Chairs Mee ng (following on from the Regional Chairs Forum in February) will take place on Saturday 28 July 2012 at Castle Hill RSL, 77 Castle Street, Castle Hill NSW. NSW Board Sub-Commi ee – Compeon Governance Sub-Commi ee The SONSW Board has endorsed the establishment of a Compe on Governance Sub-Commi ee. This subcommi ee will provide recommendaons to the SONSW Chair rela ng the iden fica on of State event venues as well as liaising with SONSW Board/ Regions when events need to be cancelled or postponed, or a change of venue is necessary. The sub-commi ee will be governed by a Terms of Reference which is currently being dra ed and will consist of a SONSW State Development Manager rep, SONSW State Sports Coordinator and the Chair of the GOC. State Ten Pin Bowling Event Changes The SONSW endorsed a change to the State Ten Pin Bowling event that will take place on August 11-12. This State event will not include a Ten Pin Teams event like it has in the past. The State Ten Pin Games will consist of singles and doubles events Next SONSW Board Mee ng The next Board Mee ng is scheduled for Saturday 16 June – for any issues you wish to raise with the Board at this mee ng please forward them to nsw@ specialolympics.com.au.
Like us on Facebook - search “Special Olympics NSW” SPECIAL OLYMPICS NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Golf Centre, PO Box 62, Concord West NSW 2138 T 61 2 8889 3606
COMMUNITY SPORTS LINK enthusiastic participantsall very keen to come back for a follow up Gala event at the end of JUNE Kristen Fitzpatrick Community Development Coordinator
We have had an amazing month of sports activity with Community Sports Link and have reached out to over 300 people with an intellectual disability (children and adults) across Sydney and Newcastle through our Skills clinics in Football, Tennis and Softball. The schools program kicked off with events at LURNEA (Sydney South West) and Sydney University (Inner City). We had a total of 14 Schools attended and participated in Skills Clinics. In it’s 2nd year at Sydney Uni we had many schools return to be a part of the program from Sydney East, Sydney South, Flinders, Sydney West and Sydney Inner West. We also welcomed Dulwich Hill High School and James Cook Boys High School to the program Our first event at Lurnea was attended by 70 students from 3 local schools- we welcome Lurnea High School, Lurnea Public School and Les Powell Special School to the program. A relaxed softball/football skills clinic for adults took place at the Field of Dreams in Panania. What a great Day with 40
A big thank you to local coaches from Sydney University Sport and Fitness, Jim from Jim’s Easy Tennis School, Ron Hughes from Southern Districts Football Association, Norm Perry from the Field of Dreams, Donna and Sue from Softball NSW and members from local Lurnea football Club Bossy FC- Andrew and Senka Duranovic for their support and great coaching. Also thanks to all the regular and event volunteers who have assisted with these events: We have had great involvement and input from 5 Occupational Therapy masters students from Sydney UniversityHelen, Caitlin, Alicia, Anne Perry and Diana- who are currently working on simple training guides to assist with coaching and compliment out Special Olympics training guides. These guides will be available shortly on the Community Sports link section of the NSW page of the SO website Thanks also to employees from Booz and Ernst and Young who took up the Corporate volunteering challenge and supported the events through volunteering. Also thanks to ACPE College and DET and Australian Catholic
University for sending through enthusiastic volunteers All Schools and Disability groups are encouraged and supported to practice skills in the lead up to follow up GALA event. Dates Are: Wednesday 20th June Schools Football/Athletics Gala Cometitions, Thornton Thursday 21st June Schools Football/Tennis Gala Competition, Lurnea Friday 22nd June Schools Football Gala Competition, Sydney University
CSL E PHOTOS
Friday 29th June Adult Disability Services Softball/ Football Gala Competition The Hunter Valley will host its first CSL Schools Football & Athletics Gala Day at Thornton Oval on Wednesday 20th June. The CSL program in the Hunter is being sponsored by the Newcastle Permanent Building Society and is working closely with it’s new partners Northern NSW Football Federation, Thornton Redbacks FC and Maitland City Council to deliver this program. The Hunter has Jodie Harris co-ordinate this and the initial Skills day on May 16th went ahead with great organisation by Jodie and her team. For further Information contact Sydney Kristen Fitzpatrick Community Development Coordinator 0424 185 565 kristenf@specialolympics.com.au Hunter Jodie Harris Community Sports Link Coordinator 0408 270 858 jodieh@specialolympics.com.au or NSW State Office on 8889 3607
Like us on Facebook - search “Special Olympics NSW” SPECIAL OLYMPICS NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Golf Centre, PO Box 62, Concord West NSW 2138 T 61 2 8889 3606
What else is happening in NSW
Special Olympics Cup Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs Saturday 2nd June 2012 ANZ Stadium- 7:30pm (7:35pm kick-off) On Saturday 2 June 2012, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs will be going head-to-head with the South Sydney Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium for the first Inaugural Special Olympics Cup. The game is to help promote and support the work of Special Olympics Australia with all of the spor ng programs they produce and maintain in all regions across Australia. With huge support coming from both Bulldogs and Rabbitohs, we have been given the opportunity to showcase who and what we are at Special Olympics Australia. At the day of the game we will be having our Special Olympics Dance Group perform a rou ne at 7:30pm prior to the games kick off. We will also have 20 volunteers located around the stadium in our designed volunteers’ shirts collec ng dona ons at before of the game and also at half me. Please also be aware that there will be games before the main game with the first game kicking off at 5:30pm. On our Special Olympics Australia website we have put up a page descrip on about the Special Olympics Cup. On this page we have included cket purchasing op ons that Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have helped us with that show that any ckets purchased via Ticketek using the password “OLYMPICS” will have 30% of every cket sold using this password going to support and profit Special Olympics Australia. We have been given an alloca on of 10,000 ckets to sell from Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs to help get more support for the game and also everyone involved with Special Olympics Australia. If you want to a end the Special Olympics Cup game or help volunteer on the day please contact Claire Manuel vial email at clairem@specialolympics.com.au as soon as possible! Also would be great if you could all help promote this event out to your personal contacts and anyone you may know that would be willing to support this game. Look forward to seeing you all at this event as it is a great way to support and promote such a great cause.
Central West Region Right On Track On Sunday 20 May Central West Region held a successful Open Day to promote Special Olympics. Well done to Chairperson David Tandy and the commi ee for promo ng and organising the day. NSW State Development Manager Andrew Sadleir also a ended and said the Region is in great shape. “The way the region has engaged with Local Government, par cularly with Orange City Council has given them great profile in the community and access to fantas c resources. The enthusiasm of the commi ee and the plans they have all go well for a successful future”. The Open Day offered basketball, football and tenpin bowling for new athletes to come and try and learn more about Special Olympics. The picture above is (from le ) Orange City Councillor Neil Jones, David Tandy and Orange City Council Deputy Mayor Geoff Whi on straight a er the presenta on of $3,500 from Council to the region. Thank you Orange City Council! Orange Councillor Neil Jones, David Tandy and Orange Council Deputy Mayor Geoff Whitton
Like us on Facebook - search “Special Olympics NSW” SPECIAL OLYMPICS NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Golf Centre, PO Box 62, Concord West NSW 2138 T 61 2 8889 3606
SONSW REGIONAL POSITIONS VACANT Volunteer Posi on Vacant: Sports Coordinator, Macarthur If you love sport and are eager to help others then you are ready for Special Olympics. Special Olympics Macarthur runs three sports clubs in the Campbelltown/Camden local authority area and we invite applica ons from volunteer sports enthusiasts who can facilitate and organise these and new sports within the region. Ideally, you will be resident in the Campbelltown or Camden local authority area and be able to commit to suppor ng local coaches to deliver weekly sports training for local athletes with an intellectual disability. We expect that you will be able to make sure that they access to regular compe on and that they represent the region with pride. You will be an ac ve member of the local commi ee and our Development Manager for Western Sydney will introduce and support you in this posi on. We will provide you with an orienta on to Special Olympics and our local volunteers are keen to have a commi ed sports leader to help them expand their ac vi es and make sure that any person with an intellectual disability can get involved in local sport. For more informa on, contact Andrew Sadleir on 02 8889 3607 or andrews@specialolympics.com.au or
Seminar Networks, Teams and Circles of Support: What I wish I had known when we got started Family members, friends and allies of a person with an intellectual disability who are thinking about developing, crea ng or enhancing the personal support network of a person with an intellectual disability or crea ng a circle of support to promote opportuni es and rela onships are invited to a end this seminar. 1.30 - 4.30 p.m. Saturday 30th June 2012 University of Sydney, Faculty of Health Sciences Cumberland Campus 75 East St, Lidcombe Registra on: $40.00 This day will focus on the experiences of families par cipa ng in a network or circle or team of support to enable a family member with an intellectual disability to plan and experience the good life. The presenta ons and discussion will be of par cular interest to families who are dealing with similar issues and these families are warmly invited to a end. Other allies and people suppor ng families in developing networks also welcome to join us. Anyone interested in a ending is invited to contact Michelle Donelly on 0423 986 386 or 07 5506 9413
Like us on Facebook - search “Special Olympics NSW� SPECIAL OLYMPICS NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Golf Centre, PO Box 62, Concord West NSW 2138 T 61 2 8889 3606
Like us on Facebook - search “Special Olympics NSW” SPECIAL OLYMPICS NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Golf Centre, PO Box 62, Concord West NSW 2138 T 61 2 8889 3606
Date
Host
Event
Sydney South SONSW CSL Na onal Disabili es Commi SONSW CSL SONSW CSL SONSW CSL Tenpin Bowling Australia South Coast Hunter Valley SONSW CSL SONSW CSL Central West
Regional Athle cs Football Compe on ee Inc Annual Tenpin Bowling Championships, South Australia Hunter Schools Football & Athle cs Gala Compe on Liverpool Schools Football & Tennis Gala Compe on Inner West Schools Football & Tennis Gala Compe on Na onal Tenpin Bowling Championships, Tasmania Regional Tenpin Bowling Regional Swimming Disability Services Football & So ball Gala Compe on Inner West Access Swim Meet Regional Football
SONSW CSL SONSW CSL Sydney West Gymnas cs NSW/Orange North Coast Sydney Northern Central Coast SONSW CSL SONSW CSL Swimming NSW Flinders
Inner West Disability Services Swimming Gala Compe on School Holiday Gymnas cs Skills Clinic Regional Tennis Regional as inclusion of Country Championships Regional Tenpin Bowling Round 3 Basketball QUALIFYING EVENT FOR AP GAMES Regional Football Liverpool Schools Basketball & Athle cs Skills Clinic Inner West Schools Basketball & Athle cs Skills Clinic Open Invita onal, Blacktown Regional Tenpin Bowling
JUNE 3 9 10-16 20 21 22 23-29 23 24 29 30 30
JULY 3 5 8 12-15 14-15 20-22 21 25 27 28 29
This calendar is accurate at the me of print, but you should always check with your Regional Sports Coordinator to confirm venues, dates and mes.
Like us on Facebook - search “Special Olympics NSW” SPECIAL OLYMPICS NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Golf Centre, PO Box 62, Concord West NSW 2138 T 61 2 8889 3606