Special Olympics Suffolk Badminton Players in great early season form!
Special Olympics Suffolk badminton players were in great early season form recently at a tournament in Cheadle, North Staffordshire. The team of Donna Wyatt, Liam Jackson and Cam Sherman brought home a haul of medals across all of the singles and doubles events. Our players faced stiff competition from Special Olympics teams from North Staffordshire, Sandwell, Sutton Coldfield and Cardiff. Many thanks from the athletes, to all of the volunteers who made this event such a success.
If you would like to find out more about Inclusive Badminton in Suffolk contact mike@activlives.org.uk or call on 01473 345350.
Eleven Special Olympics Suffolk athletes from badminton, athletics and gymnastics and their supporters joined together with a gang of 14 volunteers on a fun Scavenger Hunt around Historic Ipswich on Sunday 8th September.
The participants started off this fundraising and social event from Ipswich Train Station and the 3k route took them past Ipswich Docks, statues of Cardinal Wolsey and Gile’s Grandma to the Town Hall, several churches and art centres to Christchurch Mansions in Christchurch Park. Thankfully, the weather was kind to us and the rain clouds kept away…
Each participant was given an map and some directions to follow and they had to answer clues along the way. The volunteer Marshals were placed at strategic check points along the route and stamped their Scavenger Hunt Passports to acknowledge their progress.
. The event was supported by Ipswich Borough Council and Health and Wellbeing Officer, Zak Butler was on hand all day to support the event which culminated in a picnic lunch in Christchurch Park and a game of rounders afterwards was enjoyed by all.
A prize of a family swim was donated by Ipswich Borough Council and will be awarded to the participant who raises the most sponsor money and Athletes Amy and Liam were awarded their prizes of affiliation fees for 2025 kindly donated by an anonymous donor, for getting all ten answers to the clues of the Scavenger Hunt correct.
Sears and Bacon, Construction and Development from East Anglia kindly sponsored the high visibility jackets and Suffolk Sounds dedicated some music to Special Olympics Suffolk whilst we enjoyed out picnic lunches in the park.
Special thanks to our volunteers who gave up their Sunday to help out at the event and also to the families and friends who supported the participants on the day – we couldn’t have done it without you!
To round off the summer cricket sessions hosted by Suffolk Cricket and generously sponsored by the Lord Taverners Super 1’s scheme, a Cricket Day was held at the Bury St Edmunds Cricket Club on 29th August. Six Special Olympics Suffolk athletes Jordan, Liam, Donna, Hamish and Ed (plus new recruit, Rueben) joined Norfolk and Cambridgeshire to take part in a mornings coaching where they improved their throwing, catching and batting skills and put all this in to practice after a pizza lunch.
Athletes enjoyed a great day of cricket and they represented Special Olympics Suffolk with pride – many thanks to the coaches, supporters and sponsors. Winter cricket is being planned, more information to follow so watch this space!
Suffolk Cricket is offering FREE cricket sessions to SOS athletes this summer and there are only a few weeks left to take up the offer as the sessions end on 19th August. Please do come along, its great fun and you will learn new skills and meet new people. All you have to do is scan in the QR code, fill in a few details and turn up!
Also, please keep Thursday 29 August free as we have been invited to a Cricket Event at the Bury St Edmunds Cricket Club, 10:30 – 14:00 for skill practice, table cricket and games. Lunch will be provided.
Special Olympics Suffolk delivery partner, ActivLives,held the secondInclusive Boccia Tournament recently in Stowmarket, Suffolk. The event attracted 42 competitors, who played a total of 70 ends of boccia, over 26 matches, scoring 123 points. There were over 75 people attending the event, during the course of the day.
Boccia (pronounced ‘botcha’), is a target game, played with balls, where all of the participants are required to sit down whilst they play. “It is one of those sports that is relatively easy to play, but devilishly tricky to play well”, said Mike McCarthy, from ActivLives. The sport is particularly suitable for players with a disability, and will be part of the Paralympic programme being held in Paris next month.
The tournament in Stowmarket consisted of three divisions, where players competed in teams of three, in a round-robin format. The day concluded with a ‘spider decider’ mass team event, with all 42 players involved.
“The atmosphere has been absolutely brilliant, with plenty of very close matches throughout the day. It has also been great to welcome visiting players from Special Olympics Peterborough and Kent”.
Many thanks to all of the athletes, to our brilliant team of volunteers, to our supporting partners Special Olympics Suffolk, Special Olympics GB, the Suffolk Community Foundation and to our hosts for the day at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre.
If you would like to find out more about how to get involved with boccia in the Stowmarket, Ipswich or Felixstowe areas, please call ActivLives on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk
Waveney Gymnastics Club (WGC) hosted a magnificent three day gymnastics training camp and competition 19-21st July in Lowestoft. Head Coaches of WGC, Ellen and Alex spent many hours preparing for the event and their hard work paid off as the event was very well supported by over 50 gymnasts representing 13 gymnastics clubs from all over the UK.
Ellen and Alex are both National and International coaches and judges, and are no strangers to hosting big events and competitions, but they paid tribute to the judges who travelled long distances to officiate at the event, the coaches who travelled with their teams, the raft of volunteers, supporters and staff at WGC who gave up their time to make the day such a success.
Special Olympics Great Britain proudly supported the event, as did SO Suffolk.
Huge congratulations to all at Waveney Gymnastics Club for hosting such a successful competition, SO Suffolk thank you for your hard work and are proud of your endeavours.
The last post asked you to ‘save the date’ – the 8th September. Now I can give you more information…
Special Olympics Suffolk are hosting a Fundraiser Scavenger Hunt Challenge in Ipswich on Sunday 8th September meeting outside the main entrance of the Ipswich Train Station at 10.45am. You are invited to join us and you can bring family, friends, supporters with you.
This is a social event and one that we ask you to help us raise money by getting sponsored to take part in the Scavenger Hunt. Your coaches will have copies of the information and sponsorship forms to give out, but you will also receive an email with a digital copy.
On arrival, you will be given instructions to follow and 10 clues to find. The route will be approx 3k, so participants can walk, run, hop, skip, jump, wheel or scoot their way round. The final destination will be Christchurch Park where we will meet in front of the Mansion House to reveal the correct answers to the clues (there is a prize for the person with the most correct answers and also one for the person who raises the most sponsorship money) after which will will gather together for a picnic lunch and a game of rounders/cricket in Christchurch Park (weather permitting) before departing at 2/2.30pm.
Want to join in?
All you need to do is:
Let me know if you are coming (email me on allisonboggis@hotmail.com or leave a voicenote or message on 07979120787
This is a ‘shout out’ to all SOS athletes, supporters, coaches, parents and volunteers…
Special Olympics Suffolk are organising a sponsored walk and social activity on Sunday 8th September and we need you to join in and help us raise money for SOS to allow us to continue to support so many of you to participate in sport in Suffolk and to take part in competitions locally, nationally and internationally.
We will meet at the Ipswich train station on the morning of 8th September (time to be confirmed) and join in with a scavenger-style hunt around a carefully navigated route around Ipswich (4k in total), answering quiz questions along the way. We will finish in Christchurch Park where we will have a picnic together (bring your own lunch) and a game of rounders (weather permitting). There will be prizes for the most correct answers to the scavenger hunt, and we will guarantee a good day out with lots of fun (and exercise) on the day!
More details will follow, but in the meantime, please save the date!
Suffolk Cricket invited Special Olympics Suffolk athletes to a ‘come and try’ cricket session in Ipswich. Sponsored by The Lord Taverners, Inclusive Cricket runs free sessions every Monday at the Ipswich Cricket club from 5.15pm-6.15pm throughout the summer, and this week we were invited to join in.
James and Eddie from Suffolk Cricket made our athletes (and their supporters) very welcome, introducing them to a fun session of cricket, learning new skills in batting, bowling and fielding. They were also introduced to the concept of table cricket.
If you fancy joining us, please do come along and join in – the sessions are free and run every Monday (except for Bank Holidays). Please ignore the age limit and the dates for Ipswich on the poster!
Suffolk badminton players flew the county flag successfully at a Para-Disability Badminton tournament held recently in Gillingham, Kent. The event was hosted by Kent Badminton, in partnership with Badminton England and was attended by the President of Badminton England, Derek Batchelor and the CEO, Sue Storey.
In addition to our local athletes, the event attracted competitors from Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, Lancashire and Devon.
Seven athletes from Special Olympics Suffolk/ActivLives competed with great distinction, in divisions for athletes with an intellectual (learning) disability, across the singles and doubles events.
“We have seen some brilliant performances from our players today, which have resulted in medals of all colours being won”, said Mike McCarthy, Badminton Coach from ActivLives and Special Olympics Suffolk. “As well as being competitive though, the positive, exuberant and fun attitude of our athletes is a privilege to witness, they are a credit to Suffolk!”.
If you would like to find out more about getting involved with badminton for players with a learning disability, particularly in the Ipswich area, please call ActivLives on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk
Special Olympics Suffolk 