CEO Update

It’s been a while since my last update and there’s certainly lots happened since then. As some of you may have read in my blog, I’ve not been feeling too well lately as I myself have been diagnosed as having Covid-19. The good news is that after taking it easy for a couple of weeks I’m starting to feel much more like myself. I still get tired really easily which is to be expected but on the whole I feel ok. Your kind messages and well wishes have really meant so much and have made me feel very loved. I’d like to say a big thank you to the team at National Office for all the amazing work they’ve continued to do whilst I’ve been recovering and all their incredible support.
 
I know many of you have had to deal with this virus too which continues to be part of our lives. I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of one of our Special Olympics Tayside Athletes, Kevin Megaw. Kevin was taken way before his time as he sadly lost his battle with this cruel virus. Kevin was part of Special Olympics GB for many years and I know was a familiar and much loved face to so many. He was a true gentleman who inspired every single person he met and will be deeply missed.
 
I was also truly shocked to hear of the tragic loss of another of our Special Olympics GB family, Tom Coltman who passed away suddenly of a heart attack. I was with Tom in November last year, when we took our World Games Football Squad to Tel Aviv to compete in an exhibition Unified Football game against Special Olympics Israel as part of the London-Tel Aviv Festival. We had so much fun and laughter on that trip. I’ll hold those memories tight to remember Tom. We are so grateful for all the fantastic things he did to support our movement across GB. He will be sorely missed by everyone.
 
I know the question on everyone’s mind is when can we get back to training and doing all the things we love. The team at National Office are working flat out to look at what our return to activity could look like and what we will need to put in place to look after the welfare of our athletes and volunteers. This is our top priority, so please be patient with us and we will share more as soon as we can. We have also had to make the difficult decision to postpone our National Summer Games, which were scheduled to take place in Liverpool next August. Like many of you, I was really disappointed by this decision but I know it’s the right one and one we had to make. When the time is right we will give our Athletes the best National Games yet! To read more about this click here. 
 
I’m beyond excited to end my update with the fantastic news of our new three year pro-bono game-changing partnership with the awesome international sports marketing agency Two Circles. To read the full press release click here. We beat off really stiff competition to win the partnership which will be transformative for our organisation and the 1.5 million people living with an intellectual disability in GB. We have the opportunity to create something really special through this partnership and I just can’t wait to tell you more about it – I’ve only just stopped dancing in my kitchen since finding out the news! This really is the next chapter for Special Olympics GB and what an exciting one it’s going to be.
 
Stay safe and well.
Michelle X

 
Over the last couple of months we’ve seen an increase in demand from schools and community groups to understand more about our Motor Activities Training Programme (MATP). We’re all being agile in adapting the way we work and learn at the moment and we’re really proud of our MATP Team who have done just that!
 
We’re delighted to now be offering a number of free online workshops to help schools and community groups working with people with PMLD and complex needs to learn more about MATP. The Team will also be running a series of ‘Ask Ange’ zoom catch up calls for MATP groups that are already established. To find out more and register for these sessions click HERE. 

And finally...

This month also saw us celebrate National Volunteer Week. Thank you again to all of our Volunteers across England, Scotland and Wales for all that you do. You each make sure an incredible difference to transforming the lives of our Athletes and we really can’t thank you enough. Here’s a message from us to you!