As we reflect on quite an extraordinary year for Special Olympics Great Britain, we say a fond farewell to Murton Mann, who stepped down officially from his role as Chair of the Board last week.  On behalf of everyone involved with Special Olympics GB, I’d like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to Murton for everything he has done over the last decade on our Board. 

Murton has served his maximum term on the Board and has handed over the baton to a new Chair at our recent board meeting on 12^th December.  There are a number of Board members in similar position and will be rotating off the board over the next few months.

Murton has made a significant impact at Special Olympics and demonstrated such passion, energy and enthusiasm for the movement.  He has put his heart and soul into this organisation, and his family Heather and lovely daughter India, have also made a number of sacrifices, so that Murton could continue to drive our amazing organisation forward.  Thank you Heather and India.  I know it can’t have been easy when we have taken up so much of his time!

Murton has been a very hands-on Chair and his enthusiasm is infectious.  He has led the Board through significant periods of change and some really tough times. All the while, doing the right thing for the athletes and the movement as a whole.  He has also had to make some very tough and brave decisions which have served us very well for the direction we are heading in. 

On a personal level, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Murton for his unwavering support of me.  We have had some very lively chats and debates and we have shared a lot of laughs.  That is the sign of a good relationship between a CEO and Chair! I will miss Murton, as I am sure will everyone in the Special Olympics family.  However, as we all know, once you’re in, you’re in! No one ever really leaves Special Olympics! Murton will remain involved in our work and will continue to support the work that he and the board started.  Thank you Murton.

Our Board is in very safe hands and after an extensive search, we have appointed Paul Richardson as our new Chair.  We will do a more in-depth introduction to Paul in the new year, but he has a really impressive track record in the legal world, wealth management and business transformation.  Paul has also served as Chair of the Steve Redgrave Trust and as a Trustee for WellChild.  We are in very safe hands with Paul.  We will update you with more news on the Board in January.
 
 

Our Athlete Leadership Council held their last meeting of 2019 in London at our national offices.  During the morning, each of our brilliant athlete leaders, presented to the Board of Trustees. I was so proud of each and every one of them as they challenged the Board on what should be the priorities moving forward. 

I made a commitment to the Athlete Leadership Team at the beginning of this year that we would ensure they are part of our governance leadership structure, and we have come good on that commitment.  Ian, Kiera, Katie, Fleur, Niall, Lyn and Matt are a force to be reckoned with and we are working hard to ensure our athlete journey gives all athletes leadership and development opportunities through a clear pathway.  Each of the current ALC will start to mentor the next generation of leaders. 

I’d like to thank the ALC for continuing to inspire & challenge me, and most of all for the laughs we have together. 

Michelle

Trip of a lifetime for Special Olympics GB footballers 

On November 25, Special Olympics GB and a team of ten footballers set off to Tel Aviv, Israel for a trip of a lifetime.  Our footballers had been invited by Special Olympics Israel to take part in the London in Tel Aviv Festival that Virgin Atlantic and British businessman Marc Worth were supporting.

The idea was that Special Olympics GB football team would take on Special Olympics Israel in a celebration of inclusion and unified sport towards the end of the festival.

For the entire SOGB team 10 players and three volunteers, this was the first time anyone of them had ever visited Israel.  And what a week they had! 

To read all about it and to find out how they got on - click HERE.

As sporting stars from across the UK gathered in Aberdeen for the prestigious BBC Sport Personality of the Year, it was brilliant to see some of our Special Olympic GB athletes invited to attend. An amazing evening was had by all and our athletes had a brilliant time meeting some of the UK’s biggest names in sport including Ben Stokes, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Doddie Weir, Will Bayley, Ellie Simmonds, Denise Lewis, Colin Jackson, Nicola Adams to name but a few. 

The evening was made even better when Special Olympics GB was featured in the show for the first time ever as part of a 2019 round-up montage.  It may have been short but it was very sweet to be included and we look forward to seeing what more can be done moving forward.
 

Sporting Highlights
 

It's been a busy time with athletes turning on Christmas lights and making appearances at a large number of events.  

Congratulations to Hetty Bartlett on being runner up in the Sports Personality of the Year Award at the 2019 Suffolk Sports Awards held recently.   And to SOGB Judo athlete Liam Duhig who was the special guest of honour at the Elmbridge Sports Awards 2019 last Friday.    

Congratulations to SOGB athlete and Cheshire Penguins swimmer Shauna Hogan for being named Dimensions UK Sports, Arts & Entertainment Leader for 2019.  Deemed a “health & safety risk” at school, she’s certainly proving them wrong!

On Thursday, December 12, 115 participants with and without intellectual disabilities from local primary and secondary schools gathered at Wexham School in Berkshire for the "Be Fearless Be Kind" Unified Basketball Festival delivered in partnership with Hasbro.  

While Battersea Park in central London, played host to four SOGB athletes for the launch of Growing Happy’s "Bee The Change" launch event.   A great morning was had by all where Bear Grylls and Be Military Fit put our athletes and other participants through their paces in a specially designed fitness session followed by a dance session led by I Can Dance.  

Also congrats to everyone who took part in the National Learning Disability Tennis Championships held in partnership with the LTA back in November in Sunderland. With more than 60 athletes taking part – they had a brilliant few days of action.

If you have a story you would like to be included in our newsletters – please send details and pictures to ALISON LAVENANT.

And please, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for lots more stories about our athletes and what’s been going on. 

And finally...