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September 2004 In attendance: Robbie, Levon, Robert, Miriam, Leslie and Jill. Regrets: Gordon and Therese. Athletes elected Levon to be the chairperson for this meeting. Athletes then reviewed the minutes from July 5th, 2004. Current Business: Some responses to July’s Meeting Minutes: -> Geri Rockstein responded to concern #4 (Some members of the committee feel it is unfair for athletes attending the Provincials -or other out of town competitions- to have to be responsible for fellow athletes.). Her response was as follows: * She would hope that fellow athletes would want to help other athletes out. * For some people, it was their first provincials, while others were more experienced. * Some are more equipped to handle the stress of being away from home than others. * There were very few coaches in ratio to the number of athletes. * She wouldn’t think that a coach would want to offload responsibilities. * Members of the committee responded by saying that they were not referring to issues in swimming. They don’t mind helping out and showing people the ropes to a certain extent. -> Pat Philip requested input from the committee and fellow athletes about the following: At Toronto Special Olympics Day, would they rather have small door prizes for all athletes or 3-4 larger door prizes and a draw with each athlete having a chance to win? * Members of the committee responded by saying that they feel it is nice for all athletes to go home with something. Additionally, some athletes may get upset if they do not receive a prize. The members of the committee will relay this question to fellow athletes to generate more response. * Members of the committee reviewed the Toronto Community Council Meeting minutes. -> Members of the committee read an article passed on from Marcia about an Italian Special Olympics athlete who climbed a very difficult mountain at the age of 13. * The committee found this article to be very inspiring. The article showed that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. Many people think that people with intellectual disabilities are not capable of many things. There should be no distinctions – everyone has to go through trials and tribulations. -> Marcia passed along information form the Active Living Resource Centre. Athletes reviewed this. Coaches should have received the information and will access it if it is of benefit to their clubs. Athletes took turns bringing up issues which were then discussed by committee members as a group: Upcoming Events/News/Updates: 1. Two weeks ago, a new baseball team began. The name is unconfirmed as of yet, but may be called the Phoenix (named from two teams coming together to start anew). The team still needs athletes to come out for this. They possibly have eight athletes, but need twelve to go to Regionals. However, they do not want to take people away from other teams, leaving them in a lurch. There are still many flyers floating around that need to be handed out. 2. One baseball team is having a casino fundraiser. 3. The Fall Conference may take place at the Delta Chelsea (downtown location). The event will take place from Friday to Sunday. 4. One of the soccer teams recently went to Kitchener for a tournament. Their B team finished second in the finals against Brampton, while the C team finished fifth. There will be another soccer tournament at the end of the month in Whitby. All members of the team will be able to go. 5. There was a press conference at St. Bruno’s about use of community space. There was media coverage of this event. Some members of the government were also in attendance. 6. At a recent meeting of the Athlete Empowerment Committee the idea came about of writing a letter to Peterborough Special Olympics to see if they lost any equipment in the recent flood. The committee would like to offer assistance by donating extra equipment if needed. 7. Bowling will begin for two clubs on September 11th. Budget/Financing/Fundraising: 8. There will be some cutbacks to the Fall Conference this year due to the expense. 9. The cost of sending athletes overseas is extremely high. 10. Money is still floating in from donations. The Toronto Blue Jays are still donating money to Ontario Special Olympics. 11. Toronto Special Olympics is doing well this year. 12. The last North American conference took place at the Fairmont Royal York. This was a very expensive venue, but also very nice. 13. The next North American Conference will take place in St. John's in October. It will cost $500 for transportation and hotel room. Two athletes from region 11 will be attending. 14. One Special Olympics athlete travels all over the world for Special Olympics. Special Olympics pays for all expenses for this. 15. The talent show will become an annual fundraiser because it did so well. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was amazing to see all of the additional talent that Special Olympics athletes have. Hopefully even more people will come out next year, and hopefully even more athletes will show off their talent. 16. It will cost $100 to register each team for the Regionals this year. 17. When going to out of town tournaments such as Kingston, athletes have to cover the cost of their registration, the bus, lunch and dinner. People who have very tight budgets (including some people who live in group homes) are often not able to afford the cost which can be anywhere from $50-$60. Athlete Empowerment Issues: 18. Marcia Mack is leaving shortly. This will have a big impact on many people involved with Special Olympics. Marcia has been with Special Olympics since 2001 (three years and two months). Marcia has helped s a great number of athletes over the past few years. Members of the committee generated a list of many of the things that Marcia has been responsible for: * Marcia was the one who got on the ball with Special Olympics Day. * She initiated many more clubs in Region 11 including skiing, a new baseball team, curling, a new soccer team, golf, basketball and gymnastics. * Her first fundraiser was a “Lay It On The Line” fundraiser, in which she and a few athletes went to a location in the financial district and asked people to lay their loonies and toonies on a line on the floor to help raise money for Special Olympics. She has initiated several fundraisers since then. Two very successful ones this year included one at the Madison Street Pub and a Talent show featuring the many talents of Special Olympics athletes (outside of their athletic ability). * Marcia has also been instrumental in gaining media attention and publicity for Special Olympics. She has gotten spots for athletes on Breakfast Television, interviews on CBC radio, as extras in movies, and interviews in newspapers such as the Toronto Star and the Scarborough Mirror. * If it wasn’t for Marcia, athletes would not have had the opportunity to write articles for the newsletter, or to be athlete speakers. * She has boosted athlete potential and self-esteem in many ways including speaking engagements and committees such as this. Many athletes have never had the opportunity to be on a committee or to participate in helping out at special events or in the office. * Marcia will be greatly missed by athletes, volunteers, and staff at Special Olympics. Marcia will return as a volunteer with Special Olympics next year. Other Important Issues: 19. Megan MacDonald will be taking over for Marcia next week. Megan will be trained by Marcia. 20. Door prizes for events such as Toronto Special Olympics day come from leftover items form specific events and large companies who donate money/items to Special Olympics. 21. One great way to help out Special Olympics is to donate air miles. This helps when athletes need to go to events such as Nationals or Worlds. 22. Some athletes disagree with coaches and fellow athletes smoking. Some believe it may set a bad example. Many members of the committee disagree with this and believe that coaches/athletes can smoke if they want to. 23. A Special Olympics athlete’s family recently got a home through Habitat for Humanity. It was wonderful to see this. 24. Next year one team may not attend tournaments because people do not show up when they say that they will. Athletes should be considerate enough to give advanced warning if they can’t go to a tournament. 25. There needs to be more emphasis in the media on Special Olympics, as it is often confused with the Para Olympics. The next meeting will take place on Monday September 13th, 2004. Home || Sports || Events || Volunteering || Donations || Links || Contact Us |
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