Transcript Competition and Training Standards

Competition and
Training Standards
How to create a consistent and quality experience
through sports
Paperwork is one of the most important
pieces of participation with Special
Olympics
 ALL forms must be turned in to SOWY
PRIOR to participation

◦ This means prior to the first practice

Why so important?
◦ Secondary insurance
◦ example
Everyone’s Favorite Topic:
Paperwork

Paperwork required:
◦ Athletes
 Application for Participation (Medical)
◦ Must be signed by a medical professional
 Release Form (Consent)
◦ Signed by an adult athlete with a witness
◦ Signed by a parent/guardian
 Special Release for Athletes with Atlanto-Axial
Instability
◦ If an athlete with Down Syndrome has a positive x-ray
Paperwork Continued….

Unified Sports Partners
 Application for Participation in Unified Sports
 Volunteer Information and Registration Form
(recommended)

Class “A” Volunteers
◦ Coaches, Chaperones or anyone with close and
consistent contact with athletes
 Volunteer Information and Registration Form

The Unified Sports Partner and Class “A”
Volunteer forms MUST be signed by the local
coordinator (which is probably you).
◦ This lets us know the volunteer has been in contact
with you and knows their responsibilities.
Paperwork Continued…

Prior to competitions we will send out an
Errors and Exceptions form
◦ This lists which athletes have missing or
expired registration and consent forms
 Athletes with NO records on file prior to games
will NOT be allowed to participate
 We are a little more lenient with athletes whose
forms have expired.

Quarterly reports are sent to programs
listing Volunteer and Unified Sports
Partner registration status
Paperwork Continued…
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Registrations for games are sent out
approx. 10 weeks in advance to games
◦ They can also be found on our website (show
where)
Please make sure to completely read
through the entire registration packet
(sorry for how long they are but they are
full of important information).
 Please make sure to completely fill out the
registration forms

Registration
Incomplete Registration

Incomplete registrations lead to:
◦ Delay in divisioning because we have to track
you down for corrections
◦ Incorrect divisioning due to lack of
scores/times
 This only hurts the athletes because they may be
placed in a division with an athletes much more
skilled than them.
◦ Using scores/times from previous years leads
to improper divisoning as well.
 Again this only hurts the athletes
Incomplete Registrations

Another consistent problem with
incomplete registrations:
◦ Not listing all coaches and chaperones on the
Coach and Chaperone Roster
 This allows us to double check if they have
current volunteer registration forms on file
◦ If you want information from us to be sent to
specific coaches this is where you would list
their email address.
 Having coaches send information to athletes can
help you make sure every athlete and family has
the appropriate information about events.
Incomplete Registrations

Special Olympics is unique from other
Sports Organizations:
Sports opportunities for all ability levels
Divisioning for equitable competition
Awards for all participants
Random draw for advancement to higher levels of competition
No fees charged to athletes or family
Special Olympics

Provide all competitors a chance to excel

No more than 3-8 athletes or teams per division

Further separated by ABILITY:
• For individual competition 10-15% guideline and preliminaries
• For team competition -
 Skills Assessment Tests and
 Classification rounds of competition
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Grouped by age & gender
Special Olympics: Divisioning

Winter Games:
◦ Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing,
Snowboarding, Snow Shoe
◦ State games in Jackson (February)
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Summer Games:
◦ Aquatics, Athletics, Basketball, Powerlifting
◦ State games in Laramie (May)

Unified Sports Golf Tournament
◦ In Douglas
◦ August
Special Olympics: Sports Offered

Michael G. Perry Softball Tournament
◦ In Casper
◦ In September
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Fall Tournament
◦ Bowling, Soccer, Equestrian, Cycling
◦ State games in Casper (October)
Special Olympics: Sports Offered
Each sport consists of multiple events for
athletes to compete in.
 For lower ability athletes wanting to
compete in team sports (soccer, softball,
etc.):
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◦ there are individual skills for them to showcase
their abilities
Special Olympics: Sports Offered
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Just a heads up:
◦ Tennis will be added as a sport to Summer
Games
 Gymnastics will be removed from State Summer
Games
◦ But it will still be offered at Area III Summer Games
◦ Dave Boon, with the USTA, is offering to host
tennis clinics for those programs interested
 We may be able to provide you with start up
equipment
 He will travel to you for the trainings
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Don’t miss out on this great opportunity!
New Sports: Tennis
Area Games are offered prior to State
Games for each season to offer additional
competition experience for athletes.
 Area Games participation is required prior
to State Games participation

◦ Exceptions to this rule:
 If an athlete is sick, out of town or can’t miss
school
◦ If an athlete doesn’t compete at area games
because they don’t “feel like it”, they aren’t
allowed to compete at State Games.
Competition Standards:
Area Games

Training Requirements can be found on
each registration packet and in the Sports
Rules.
◦ Example:
 Fall Tournament minimum training requirements:
 Bowling
8 weeks
12-15 games
 Cycling
8-10 weeks
16 hrs
 Equestrian
10 weeks
20 hrs
 Soccer
10-12 weeks
20 hrs
Training Standards:
Training Requirements
These minimum training requirements are
set by SOI (Special Olympics
International)
 These requirements allow for the best
possible training for athletes in order to
succeed in state competitions.
 Hours/Games played at Area Games count
towards these totals.
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Training Standards:
Training Requirements
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Take advantage of materials offered on
our website:
◦ Sports Rules- rules we follow for competitions
and you should follow for training
◦ Coaches Guides- offers great information on
how to host practices and what skills to teach
athletes.
◦ www.specialolympicswy.org (navigate)
Training Standards
We are always looking for ways to
improve our competitions.
 Please let us know if you would like to
have a rule changed PRIOR to the official
training season for the event.

◦ Ex: adding assisted snowshoeing
 This must be discussed prior to 10 weeks before
state games
 This allows us to accept the rule and inform ALL
programs so they can incorporate the rule in their
practices.
Rules Changes

SOWY’s goals for coaches trainings:
◦ By 2014
 Each program must have 1 certified coach (in any
sport) at each COMPETITION event.
◦ By 2015
 Each program must have 1 certified coach PER
SPORT at each COMPETITOIN event.
◦ Example: if a program participates in soccer and
bowling they must have a coach certified in soccer and
a coach certified in bowling at state games.
Training Standards:
Coaches Trainings
We are trying to make coaches training
more accessible to more people.
 Coaches Training Certification requires:

◦ Completion of General Session
 Will be offered online at
www.specialolympicswy.org (navigate)
◦ Completion of Protective Behaviors Training
 Offered on our website (above)
◦ Attendance at a Sports-Specific Training
Training Standards:
Coaches Training

Sports Specific Trainings:
◦ We have changed the format of these to be
more accommodating.
◦ We now offer two sessions in a day:
 One in the morning and one in the afternoon
 This allows one coach to be able to take two
different sports trainings in one day.
 This also allows some flexibility for coaches to fit
the trainings into their schedules.
Training Standards:
Coaches Trainings
Lunch is offered to coaches that attend.
 We also offer assistance with gas
reimbursement
 And we offer hotel stays for coaches
attending the morning sessions
 We are working on offering two coaches
trainings for each season on different
sides of the state
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◦ To help minimize travel and time commitment.
Training Standards:
Coaches Training
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Athletes can advance to National or World
Games:
◦ Athletes are chosen at random based on
number of gold medals achieved at state
games.
◦ Quota-driven by National or World Games
Committees.
Competition: Advancing
Please feel free to contact SOWY Staff at
any time with questions.
 Just a reminder:

◦ Try not to take everything on yourself
◦ Involve some key volunteers or coaches to help
you along the way

Thank you for everything you do!
Competition and Training
Standards

www.specialolympicswy.org
◦ Where to find information about specific events
◦ Where to find games results
Navigating our Website

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