Special Olympics Suffolk Active Easter Trail voted an ‘eggcellent’ success!

Posted on March 31, 2026 by specialolympicssuffolk

Over 30 participants, their families, carers and supporters took part in the Active Easter Trail in Christchurch Park, Ipswich on Sunday 29th March. At 11am, the Mayor of Ipswich Stefan Long set the trailblazers off in small groups to follow a trail around the park with a passport setting out a map of the route, clues to solve and activities to take part in.

Luckily, the rain held off and although there was a Spring chill in the air, the 2km trail and the sport-related activities along the route soon warmed everyone up. Once they had finished the Trail and answered the final clue, each participant was given an Easter Egg to take away (kindly donated by Jenny Leslie, Nadia Bacha, Yvonne Holmes, DSH Improvements and the Boggis Family).

Lunch was served in St Margaret’s Hall afterwards to hungry trailblazers and the hardy bunch of 24 volunteers (marshals, activity makers, sign-posters and catering crew), followed by the raffle, tea and cake and the SO Suffolk AGM, kindly attended by the High Sheriff of Suffolk, Gulshan Kayembe. Athlete Leaders Donna, Mark and Hamish were hugely instrumental in making the day run smoothly and being fantastic role models for Special Olympics Suffolk.

Massive thanks to the Mayor of Ipswich Stephan Long, the High Sheriff of Suffolk Gulshan Kayembe for giving up their time to come along to the event in support Special Olympics Suffolk on Sunday. Special thanks also to those who donated easter eggs, cakes and food for the event, to our athlete leaders for being so inspirationals and to the trusty band of volunteers who gave up their time to support the event.

NEWS RELEASE

Friday 19th August 2014

Special Olympics Athletics a big success

Athletes from across Suffolk took part in Suffolk’s first ever Special Olympics Athletics Competition at Northgate Track on Wednesday 17^th August. Participation in the event qualifies athletes to take part in events across the country including at national level. Although the main aim is to encourage ongoing participation in club coaching and competition, for some the opportunity will be there to be considered for selection by Special Olympics GB for international competition.

Local athletics club Orwell Panthers played a central and pivotal role in supporting Special Olympics Suffolk’s team of volunteers to organise the event.

A number of personal best performances were set with the highlight being a very closely contested 100m which saw Waveney Valley AC athlete Aiden Hewitt win in an excellent time of 12.6 seconds. The quality of the race was such that second placed Rhys Turnbull-Bester posted an impressive 12.9 seconds with host club athlete Ollie Minns taking the bronze in 13.4 seconds.

Murton Mann, the Suffolk based Chairman of Special Olympics Great Britain and a member of the Special Olympics Suffolk Action Group said:

‘’It was wonderful to see so many athletes competing and enjoying themselves. I was really impressed by the high standard of competition and it was great to see so many athletes achieving personal bests spurred on by the atmosphere. A fantastic first for Suffolk in this the inaugural Special Olympics Suffolk competition, the first of many and the start of more opportunities for people with an intellectual disability in our county. A very big thanks to everyone involved in providing ongoing training and for organising this competition, also to Ipswich Orwell Rotary Club for providing the initial start-up funding for Special Olympics Suffolk’’

The timing of Suffolk’s first event coincides with the staging of the Special Olympics European Summer Games in Antwerp which are currently taking place. www.so2014.com

Further information about the athletics competition or Special Olympics Suffolk contact either Terry McEntee on terrymcentee474@gmail.com 07775 557784 or Matt Abbott on matt@elatussports.co.uk or 07846 510139.

ENDS

EDITORS NOTES: SPECIAL OLYMPICS

The charity Special Olympics Great Britain (SOGB, www.specialolympicsgb.org.uk est. 1978) is the country’s largest provider of year-round sports training and competition for all people with an Intellectual Disability.

It is recognised as the third member of the “Olympic family” and the only other organisation allowed to use the word Olympic.

Unlike the Paralympics or Olympics, Special Olympics is not just an event every four years for elite athletes but training and personal development for all abilities achieved through regular local sports club meetings leading to participation in regional, national and international events and competitions.

Special Olympic Oath: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt”

SOGB is community based run by volunteers in the local community. The charity helps to transform the lives of children and adults with learning disabilities through sport…. BUT is more than just sport, it is training for life.

Until now Suffolk has been one of only four counties in the country not to have a Special Olympics club. The setting up of Special Olympics Suffolk, this first competition and ongoing programme has been possible due to funding from Ipswich Orwell Rotary Club and its Germany counterpart Hanau Maintal Rotary Club.

Locally the added drive is that the Chairman of the SOGB Board lives in Ipswich and is determined to bring the opportunity of Special Olympics to Suffolk.

The second event, which will be a gymnastics competition at Waveney Gymnastics Club in Lowestoft, will take place on Sunday November 16^th. This will be a regional competition and mark the Official Launch Event of Special Olympics Suffolk.

Next year Special Olympics Suffolk aims to offer other sports with initial discussions and plans for swimming already underway.

In Great Britain there are an estimated 1.2 million people with an intellectual disability. When you consider families, friends and carers, the total footprint of those affected is near up to 12 million people. 200 babies will be born this week with a learning disability.

The global Special Olympics Movement was founded in 1968 when the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver (President John F. Kennedy’s sister) started a day camp for people with learning disabilities at her home in America. Today Special Olympics has a presence in nearly 200 countries with over 3 million athletes.

Special Olympics Suffolk badminton players invited to meet the Saxons Badminton Squad

Posted on March 28, 2026 by specialolympicssuffolk

A group of our Special Olympics Suffolk badminton team recently met up with the Saxons Badminton squad, before a National badminton League fixture at the Ipswich Corn Exchange.

Our players got to meet Olympian and world ranked doubles player Sean Vendy, as they were presented with a signed Saxons shirt – we were then guests at the match against Manchester Badminton. Some of our athletes even got to have a hit on court with members of the Saxons squad – what an experience!

We are very grateful to Mike Tee, Anthony Clark and the Suffolk Saxons for their support for Special Olympics badminton in our county.

Active Easter Trail – Sunday 29th March 2026

Posted on March 21, 2026 by specialolympicssuffolk

Come and Join us!

Special Olympics Suffolk are hosting an Active Easter Trail on Sunday March 29th around Christchurch Park, Ipswich as a social event that will also be part of their fundraising campaign towards athletes representing SO Suffolk in the National Summer Games taking place later in the year.

Participants are requested to arrive around 10.30am and the Mayor of Ipswich, Stefan Long will officially start the Trail at 11am. Trailblazers will be given a ‘passport’ which has a map of the park, a route to follow and some clues to answer along the way. There will be some sport related activities dotted along the route too. Volunteer marshals shall be posted along the route and will be cheering our participants on! Each participant will pay £5 to join the Trail and those that complete it will be given a small easter egg for taking part. It promises to be a lot of fun and the event will go ahead whatever the weather!

All are invited to join together in St Margaret’s Hall (just next to the Park) afterwards for lunch (£5 please prebook) or you are invited to bring a packed lunch (but no take-aways, please!).

We will then be joined by Gulsham Kayembe, the High Sheriff of Suffolk who will join us for tea and cake plus a raffle, our AGM and athlete presentations.

Its not too late to join us – contact Allison Boggis allisonboggis@hotmail.com to book in!

HUGE thanks to;

:)all volunteers for giving up their time to support this event

🙂 DSH Home Improvements, Jenny Leslie, Nadia and Omar Bacha and the Boggis family for donating the Easter Eggs

and

🙂 Goals, Katie’s Garden, the Rumble Family for the generous donation of raffle prizes

Paralympian Evie takes on Special Olympics Suffolk Boccia Head Coach role for National Summer Games!

Posted on March 9, 2026 by specialolympicssuffolk

Who better to prepare and train SO Suffolk Boccia players to take part in the SOGB National Summer Games than Evie, a two-time Paralympian, previously competing for Team GB in Boccia in the Rio and Tokyo Paralympic Games?! She is an incredibly skilled Boccia player, a Patron of Special Olympics Suffolk and a previous member of the Active Suffolk Board.

Evie is no stranger to competing in high level events having played Boccia in Rio and Toyko before deciding to retire in 2022. On her sporting journey, she collected four golds, five silvers and three bronzes at World and European levels.

Evie explained that not many people have heard about Boccia. It is similar to the sport Bowls but played with softer balls.

The objective of the game is to get your ball closest to the jack (the white ball). Each person takes it in turns to throw a ball to either get close to the jack or knock their opponents ball away from it.

Players take it in turns to throw the jack first. Then the two regular balls are thrown, after this the opponent who is farthest away from the jack throws next. The team closest and the most balls surrounding the jack wins and the number of balls is added up to the score.

Athletes can throw using their arms legs and when needed an assisted ramp.

The sport is played completely mixed. And can be played in individuals, pairs or up to teams of three.

The individual competition consists of four ends and six balls per player per end, whilst paired competition is four ends and six balls per pair per end (three per player). Team competition is six ends, and six balls per team per end (two per player).

Evie will be getting the seven strong SO Suffolk Boccia squad in shape for the National Summer Games in Sutton Coldfield in August with the support of experienced coach Mike McCarthy.

Huge thanks to Evie and Mike and good luck to all at the NSG!