Once again, athletes from Special Olympics Suffolk competed beyond the County boundary – this time crossing the border to Norfolk where they took part in the Eastern Region Summer Series of Sport.

Over one hundred Special Olympics athletes from North London, West Midlands, St Albans, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk and descended on the Sports Park at UEA, Norwich on Saturday 28th June competing in football and athletics regional competitions. Special Olympics GB sanctioned the event and Active Norfolk and Special Olympics Norfolk and Suffolk co-hosted the event and the facilities at the Sports Park were superb.

Temperatures soared but that didn’t deter our athletes as they competed fiercely on track and field, bring a well-deserved clutch of medals back to Suffolk.

As always, it take much preparation, hard work and dedication to put on an event such as this and special thanks go to our Athlete Leader Donna, SO badminton player and volunteer Ed, athletics and football officials, 40+ volunteers, coaches, team managers and supporters without whom this event would not have been possible.

Big smiles all round for the five intrepid athletes who took part in track and field events in the North Staffs and Stafford Regional Athletics event at the weekend.

Despite being a hot, sticky and overcast day, the athletes performed well and recorded personal bests, bringing home 15 placed medals between them. Their hard work and dedication during the long winter months of training certainly paid off.

A fantastic day was enjoyed by all and the coaches and parent’s were proud of the way the athletes conducted themselves and took part in the competition. An extraordinary effort from each and every one of you – well done!

Special Olympics Suffolk were invited to a ‘Sail and Supper’ evening at East Anglian Sailing Trust (EAST) https://www.east-anglian-sailing-trust.org.uk/ on Tuesday 17th June and what a fabulous evening it turned out to be!

The weather was perfect – the evening was warm and sunny with a gentle breeze.

The athletes were warmly greeted on arrival at the sailing club. After enjoying a most delicious supper cooked by Brian in the Galley and completing the paperwork, the athletes were introduced the to volunteers that were supporting them to sail. Martin was our lead and he carried out the safety checks and made sure all was in order before the sailors, supporters and volunteers got on board their designated boats.

The four boats were towed out of the jetty by the support and safety boats and then they were off, heading down the River Orwell!

The time passed so quickly and soon it was time to head back to base…

The athletes and their supporters were buzzing with excitement when they disembarked and walked along the pontoon back to the clubhouse, chatting about what they had seen and done. Huge thanks go to EAST and the amazing volunteers for a memorable evening which was enjoyed by one and all!

A team of Special Olympics Suffolk athletes represented our county with great distinction at a recent Para-Badminton tournament held in Gillingham, Kent.

The tournament, which was hosted by Kent Badminton, was a great success with all of our team of eight players competing in the singles and doubles events. There were some terrific performances from our group, all of whom faced stiff opposition from players from across the south of England.

Congratulations to our players and many thanks to all of the volunteers, family members and support workers who supported our players in competing at this event. The next tournament for many of our players will be the Special Olympics GB National event in Walsall in August.   

Special Olympics Suffolk delivery partner, ActivLives, hosted another very successful Inclusive Badminton Tournament on 17th May, at Gainsborough Sports Centre in Ipswich. The event was action packed with 23 competitors from inclusive groups in Ipswich, Wimbledon and Canterbury, playing in singles and doubles events.

  These inclusive competitions are specifically for athletes who have an intellectual (learning) disability, with this particular tournament being sanctioned and supported by Special Olympics GB, as part of their ‘National Summer Series of Sport’, which is being held across the country throughout the summer.  

“The atmosphere today has been absolutely brilliant – the athletes are so supportive of each other and the standard of play is ever improving”, said Mike McCarthy, from ActivLives.

Many thanks to the brilliant team of volunteers who made the event happen, and to all of the partner organisations: ActivLives, Special Olympics Suffolk, Special Olympics GB, Suffolk Community Foundation and Ipswich Borough Council, who continue to support events such as this one.   

If you would like to find out more about badminton for players with a learning disability, please call ActivLives on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk     

A beautiful day at Carlton Keighley, West Yorkshire set the stage for the BKS Athletics Disability Open 2025, where sunshine and scenery matched the enthusiasm and talent on display. Athletes from across the country came together to celebrate inclusive sport — and Special Olympics Suffolk and Orwell Panthers Athletics athletes, Hamish and Gracie made a huge impact.

Hamish bagged gold in the 50m,100m, Discus, and Relay and a bronze in the Shot Put and Gracie was awarded Gold in the Ball Throw and Relay with a Silver in the 100m and Bronze in Standing Long Jump.

Both athletes also recorded personal bests across multiple events, a testament to their hard work and determination.

The atmosphere was inspiring, the performances electric, and the pride immeasurable. Huge congratulations to Hamish and Gracie for representing Suffolk with distinction and heart.

As the 2025 season unfolds, hopes are high for even more opportunities to compete, improve, and inspire. With talent like this, the future of Suffolk disability athletics looks incredibly bright.

The next event takes place on 28th June at the Sports Park at UEA, Norwich where both athletes will be joined by fellow competitors from Orwell Panthers Athletics Club and athletes from the Eastern Region and beyond. Watch this space!

ActivLives held another of their very successful Inclusive Boccia Tournaments recently in Ipswich. The tournament attracted 33, mostly Suffolk-based competitors, including two divisions of athletes with an intellectual disability. There was some great boccia played, as the pairs and teams fought it out to decide the final divisional placings.

ActivLives are very grateful to their delivery partners Special Olympics Suffolk, and to Special Olympics GB, Suffolk Community Foundation and Ipswich Borough Council, for their continued support with these events.

Many thanks also to all of the great volunteers from ActivLives and Special Olympics Suffolk, who made this event such a success.  

If you would like to find out more about how to get involved with boccia, the world’s most inclusive sport, please contact Mike McCarthy on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk  

You are invited to a workshop on the University of Suffolk.

The workshop will be on 8th April 2025. The workshop will start at 10am and finish at 1pm.

We will meet at the University of Suffolk Waterfront reception at 10am.

The address is:

Waterfront Building University of Suffolk, 19 Neptune Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1QJ

We will do a short tour of the University of Suffolk. The tour will finish in the Health and Wellbeing building.

When we get to the health and wellbeing building, we will do activities about movement and healthy living.

You will work with student physiotherapists. A physiotherapist is a professional who uses exercise and movement to help people stay healthy.

You can do some exercises and movement if you would like to. If you do not want to do any exercises or movement that is OK. You can choose.

Wear casual and comfortable clothes to the workshop.

We will have breaks in the morning. Bring a snack and a drink with you.

If you want someone to come with you to help you take part just ask!

If you have other ideas how we can make it easy to take part, tell Danielle.

If you have questions or you would like to take part in the workshop, please email Danielle to book your place.

Email Danielle: d.ramsey@uos.ac.uk