|
BACK Sports Events Volunteering Donations Links Contact Us |
October 2004 In attendance: Robbie, Levon, Robert, Miriam, Leslie, Gordon, Megan and Jill Current Business: -> Robert was the chairperson for this meeting. -> The committee then reviewed the minutes from September 13th, 2004 -> There were some responses to the last meeting minutes from one of the coaches: * In response to item #17, athletes should be able to join a club at anytime. * Making new friends is part of the experience of Special Olympics. * This coach would never turn any athlete away who wanted to join their club. * Coaches who choose athletes to attend Provincials make their decisions on a variety of factors. There is not a fixed amount of time that an athlete has to be a member of Special Olympics. * This coach wishes that athletes would be more concerned about improving their skills and having fun rather than worry about what other athletes are doing. We are all competing against ourselves also. * In response to item #18, athletes should quit if they no longer want to participate. Athletes should be enthusiastic about their sports and have fun. * In response to item #19, proper forms are sent out to each athlete before out of town games. This coach believes they are taken seriously. From time to time something may be left out accidentally. Athletes have no idea what kind of information is on these forms. * In response to item #20, we cannot reschedule practices due to other commitments. * In response to item #21, this coach does not cancel practices on Jewish holidays. * This coach feels that a large portion of the meetings involve complaining and would like to see this negative focus turn around to how to make Special Olympics a more positive experience. Positive suggestions should be discussed. Special Olympics should be a happy and open environment and athletes should help improve the environment by making it a happy place. -> Members of the committee took turns bringing up issues which were then discussed by committee members as a group: Upcoming Events/News/Updates: 1. There will be a big 5-pin bowling fundraiser for one team in December. 2. The Athlete Committee Treasurer updated the committee on their bank statements. The money is developing interest. Questions arose as to Income Tax Forms and whether one will need to be filled out for next year. 3. There will be another 50-50 draw with the Raptors coming up. Some athletes on the committee are interested in volunteering with this event again. 4. Ontario Special Olympics wording has been changed to Special Olympics Ontario. This will be phased in gradually to uniforms etc. Athlete Empowerment Issues: 5. Serving lunches on the bus (for long distance travel) can become very messy. One suggestion of how to avoid this is for one athlete to be designated for each trip to bring along a garbage bag to collect the waste. 6. We cannot force people to go to out of town events. It may be a new experience for them and there can be several reasons why they choose not to go. Regional/Provincial/National Games: 7. At this year's Regionals, there were many photographs taken of athletes from other Regions. The photographer may not have been aware of who was in Region 11. 8. There may not be enough teams of any one sport in Toronto and that is why other Regions are brought in to play with Region 11. It is nice to compete with other regions. If a Region 11 team came in second or third to other Regions at the Regionals, it will not affect whether or not they will be going to the Provincials. 9. The next Provincials in Niagara Falls will take place during the long holiday weekend in August. But this is the only weekend that Brock University (who are the accommodations for the event) had available. 10. It would be best if athletes who are supposed to be attending Provincials and who know in advance that they will not be able to, let Special Olympics know so that other arrangements can be made (this especially affects team sports). 11. Athletes are eagerly awaiting the final announcements on who will be attending Provincials. This will not just be based on qualifications at Regionals, but on other things as well. 12. Region 11 will be taking 1 gymnast (plus 1 coach) 10 track and field athletes (plus 3 coaches), 1 soccer team (plus 3 coaches) and 1 baseball team (plus 3 coaches) to the Provincial games. Other regions may have more or less than this. For instance, the host region gets to take more teams. Sometimes this doesn't seem fair since Region 11 is much bigger than many other regions. 13. A number of athletes go to more than one Provincial Games and therefore can qualify for Nationals in more than one sport. What is the protocol if one is a team sport and the athlete chooses to compete in the other sport at Nationals? Consequently, the team will be short of players - what happens then? 14. Coaches who coach more than one team who is attending Provincials will have to choose which team they are going to coach. 15. Sometimes the actual competitions are farther away from the dormitories at out of town events. Nothing can really be done about this. Everyone should try to do the best they can to adjust to this. 16. At the last Provincials, swimmers had to walk quite a distance to and from the pool. This really adds up if you are going back and forth to the accommodations frequently throughout the day. It is something to consider for athletes who have difficulty walking, or for older athletes. Additionally, there were no elevators in the accommodations. This is also something that may be considered - especially since Special Olympics has many older athletes. Washroom facilities also need to be considered. At the last Provincials there was only one women's washroom and one men's washroom. People went in shifts to use the facilities in the mornings, which was fine, but it can be rather cramped. 17. Another consideration at out of town events is that the cafeteria in the dormitories may not always be open, and athletes have to travel to the one that is open/go in shifts. Often times the schools are not running at full capacity when Special Olympics is there, and it is the stipulation of the University that they will not open all cafeterias. 18. Some coaches were not aware at the last Provincials that snacks were available in the evening. Other Important Issues: 19. Many coaches do welcome new athletes all through the season. 20. Some athletes may forget when the new season is starting. Coaches remind the athletes at the end of the season, but it may be more helpful to get a reminder closer to the date (as some coaches already do). It may be difficult for a coach to phone every member of a club, but perhaps a mail-out would be possible as a reminder. 21. Sometimes coaches may be leaving a club, and athletes may not be aware of it. 22. There should be bottled water provided on long distance bus trips to prevent overheating/dehydration. 23. Flights do change (in respect to taking flights to out of town events). There is not really anything that can be done about this, but athletes should be prepared that there can be a change with the airline. Airlines do the best they can to let you know the itinernary in advance. 24. Many prizes have been donated for Toronto Special Olympics Day. Sponsors often donate items. The prizes are different every year. 25. There was recently a pre-season coaches meeting. At this meeting, the privacy statement was reviewed. Members of the committee must remember that some information shared in these meetings is private and confidential and should not be discussed elsewhere. Athletes should be careful not to discuss names of people involved in incidents and certain other things. If they have any questions about what is private and confidential information, they can ask Megan or Jill. 26. Region 11 needs more 10 pin bowlers. The next meeting will take place on Monday November 1st, 2004. Home || Sports || Events || Volunteering || Donations || Links || Contact Us |
|