Suffolk Special Olympians fly the flag in Bournemouth A group of Suffolk badminton players recently took part in the Southern Regional Special Olympics Badminton Tournament held in Bournemouth.

“The event was the first official badminton competition that Suffolk Special Olympians have ever participated in”, explained Mike McCarthy, one of the Special Olympic coaches.

“It was a brilliant experience for our players. They all performed well above their rankings but what was most impressive was how they rose to the challenges presented by the competitive situation, which was new to all of them”.

The Suffolk team of Ed Boggis, Kathy Brill and Cameron Sherman, who have all been training regularly in Ipswich with ActivLives and Special Olympics Suffolk, competed against players from across the south of England at the Bournemouth event.

“This was our first tournament, we will definitely be looking for more opportunities to compete at future Special Olympics events and hopefully for some players to qualify for the National Games in 2017.

This experience has given the team a real taste for competition!” said Mike. If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved with badminton with Special Olympics Suffolk or ActivLives, please contact Mike McCarthy on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk

It is a busy time for Special Olympics Suffolk at the moment as the group prepares to host Athletics and Gymnastics competitions later this year. The Athletics meeting will be held in Ipswich on 3^rd September and the Gymnastics Competition in Lowestoft on the 30^th October.

The Steering Group recently held a very useful workshop led by Jason Cornwell from Special Olympics GB. The workshop assisted the group in putting together a Club Development Plan which in turn will support the further development of Special Olympics opportunities in Suffolk.

Here’s a picture of our Steering Group taken at our May meeting.

We’re looking for a new voluntary treasurer. The time required will be minimal and a full handover will be given.

Please see the Job Advert and contact us if you are interested.

Special Olympics Suffolk – Treasurer Advert

Congratulations to a Suffolk Special Olympian who won Gold in a recent skiing competition in the French Alps. View the full ITV News Article here: http://tinyurl.com/h6jxeyk

National Opportunity 

SOGB are recruiting for Competition Managers who will have overall responsibility for preparing, coordinating and running all aspects of the competition in their sport for the 2017 National Summer Games.

The deadline for applications is 12pm, Tuesday 29th March.

This is the Job Description, and this is the Application Form.

A group of badminton players from Special Olympics Suffolk (SOS), recently went to Cambridge to play in an Inclusive Badminton Festival at the University Sports Centre. Seven players from Suffolk did themselves proud by playing a number of games with a variety of different players including 5 x English National Women’s Singles Champion and Commonwealth Games medallist, Elizabeth Cann and 3 x Para – Badminton World Champion, Rachel Choong!

A big thank you to Mags for driving the bus and to Don for helping to support the players throughout the day.

If you would like to join the SOS Inclusive Badminton group that plays in Ipswich each Wednesday 4.30-6pm, please contact Mike McCarthy on 01473 345350.

We’re excited to be able to offer clothing (competition gear and training gear) for our SAM registered athletes.

You can view our online shop here – Special Olympics Suffolk Clothing

SOS launch new Inclusive Badminton Session!

An exciting new project being set up by ActivIpswich aims to give residents in Ipswich with a disability the opportunity to play badminton in a relaxed and welcoming setting.

Community Action Suffolk recently recognised Special Olympics Suffolk for its excellent work in the community. We’re proud of our work and here’s our certificate for The Colonel Probert Award.

Colonel Probert – Special Olympics Suffolk

Three Special Olympics Suffolk athletes competed at the Greater London Special Olympics Athletics event at Lee Valley last Sunday, 10th May. All three represented SOS and themselves to an excellent standard!

From left, Oli Minns, Hetty Bartlett and Rhys Turnbull-Bester.