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Special Olypmics 2008
Special Olympics Ireland and Strabane District Council
Celebrate 30 Years Changing Lives
22 October 2008
Strabane District Council this week hosted a very special event at Melvin Sports Complex to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Special Olympics in Ireland. Approximately 170 Special Olympic Athletes and Volunteers participated in numerous events throughout the morning culminating with the arrival of the Olympic Flame alongside two very special guests; the Sam Maguire and Tom Markham Cups for the afternoon’s presentation ceremony.
Special Olympics Ireland is commemorating and thanking all communities for their support during the last three decades under the theme ’30 Years Changing Lives’. Across Ireland, local government, religious groups, schools, sports organisations and other local agencies have engaged in this very special occasion and are hosting events in their local community that will bring together all strands of that community and make the event as participatory and inclusive as possible for everyone in the locality.
Since July 1978, Special Olympics Ireland has played a very important role in the lives of so many families involved in the programme. We can look back with pride at the achievements of the organisation – the opportunities, the growth, the training, the competition, the transformative power of Special Olympics as the single most powerful vehicle for changing attitudes and promoting acceptance for those with an intellectual disability.
Special Olympics Ireland is an organsiation with 11,000 athletes participating in 12 sports in 409 clubs supported by18,000 volunteers across the island of Ireland, week in week out. This makes Special Olympics Ireland one of Ireland's largest community and voluntary organisations and reaches 33% of the 34,000 people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland. In addition to providing sports training and competition, Special Olympics Ireland also incorporates the Athlete Leadership Programme (ALPs), the Family Support Programme, Healthy Athlete and Volunteer Programme to name but a few.
Speaking at the event Chairman of Strabane District Council Jarlath Mc Nulty stated “Many people take for granted the opportunities to participate or indeed not participate in sports/leisure activity. They can choose to go and join a club without any great difficulty. For the most part people with a learning disability do not have that option. There are all sorts of barriers in the way….attitudes, facilities, volunteer support, finance, transport etc.” He went on to add
“What Strabane District Special Olympics Club and Special Olympics Ireland are doing is taking down those barriers and saying there are opportunities for everyone. The local club has made great strides in recent years and have built very successfully on of the legacy the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games”.
Mick Quinlivan Chairperson of Special Olympics Ulster added “Your contribution to the success of Special Olympics has never gone unnoticed and we want to mark, celebrate and acknowledge this contribution. For 30 years Special Olympics Ireland’s aim has been to provide more sports opportunities for people with a learning disability in their own communities. This has been largely achieved thanks to the dedication and support of all of you here today; our volunteers, coaches and partners in each community. Special Olympics Ireland would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate all those involved in the growth of its organisation.”
Under the Special Olympics Ireland Strategy 2008-2011, the organisation aims to grow the participation at local level and ensure that quality programmes are available in every community to all athletes, as well as potential athletes, volunteers, coaches and families. By 2011 Special Olympics Ireland will have engaged with more people with a learning disability so that they have the opportunity to play a full role in their own community.
