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September 2004 In attendance: Robbie, Levon, Robert, Miriam, Leslie, Gordon, Therese, Megan and Jill Current Business: * Members of the committee reviewed the purpose of these meetings for Megan. * The committee elected Gordon to be the chairperson for this meeting. * The committee then reviewed the minutes from August 9th, 2004. * Members of the committee took turns bringing up issues which were then discussed by committee members as a group: Upcoming Events/News/Updates: 1. The Grand Ravine baseball team is having a banquet a week from Sunday (Sunday September 26th, 2004) for their team only. 2. After the Regionals on Saturday, one soccer team will be having a barbecue (weather permitting). 3. One member of the committee has submitted a story for the next newsletter. The topic of this article is the Scarborough Floor Hockey team. 4. At a recent volunteer drive, many new potential volunteers came out. Additionally, people from many other charities took information on Special Olympics. 5. One bowling club has been deactivated. They are trying to work through the problems to reactivate this club. 6. Many new athletes have joined 5-pin bowling at Newtonbrook. Many come from various programs. Ten new bowlers joined the team yesterday (Sunday September 11th). 7. One member of the committee will be singing the National Anthem at the upcoming Regional games. 8. One of the bowling teams will have a new practice location starting on September 25th. 9. Newtonbrook bowling alley now has automatic scoring. Budget/Financing/Fundraising: 10. The location right now for one of the baseball teams is rather inconvenient. The diamond is very small, and there are often children playing in the fields. This could be very dangerous. It is less expensive than the other venue that was available. Team members would prefer the other diamond, but need more money from Special Olympics to use this diamond. 11. Some athletes attended a fundraiser at the Docks where employees from a company in the financial district got together and raised over $4000. There were various activities at the event including rock climbing and a watermelon eating contest. Each athlete that came out received a volleyball. 12. More ten pin bowlers are needed for next year’s fundraiser with Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors. Athlete Empowerment Issues: 13. One member of the committee came up with the idea of having police officers speak to Special Olympics athletes about issues surrounding sexual assault. Members of the committee agreed that it is important for athletes to know what is considered sexual assault, and what to do if they are sexually assaulted. Athletes should not be scared to tell people of incidents. Members of the committee also feel it is important for athletes to know how to protect themselves. Athletes are especially at risk if they are attending late night practices and are traveling home alone. Many members of the committee travel home after events and practices at night in groups or are given rides home for safety reasons. * One member of the committee raised the possibility that a police officer might come out to speak about this at Special Olympics Day. However, this day is supposed to be an uplifting event and therefore may not be the appropriate venue. It is also possible to have a training session specifically discussing this issue with coaches and athletes. Those who wished to attend could do so. Some members of the committee feel that there would be a poor turnout for this. This issue should be brought to the Regional Management Team so that they can determine how this might work. 14. TTC buses will stop anywhere along their route for women at night. 15. Again, there needs to be more positive media coverage for Special Olympics athletes. People are still confusing Special Olympics with the Para Olympics. The media itself may confuse the two. Additionally, when the media is attending a Special Olympics event, they may not necessarily publish the photos or stories. 16. Many people in the public show interest in Special Olympics, while others do not show interest at all. 17. Many members of the committee would prefer if new athletes joined their sports clubs at the beginning of the season. Some feel that it is not fair for athletes to join midway through a season, yet still qualify for tournaments/games. * Special Olympics is always getting new athletes. An athlete may not find out about Special Olympics until mid-season. If a coach is willing to take a new athlete, they are welcome to join. * Some members of the committee would like to know how long an athlete has to participate in Special Olympics before qualifying for the Provincials. 18. Athletes who join a team and then quit mid-season can leave their team in a lurch. However, every athlete should have the right to quit if they no longer want to participate in Special Olympics. Other Important Issues: 19. Before attending Provincials/Nationals/Worlds, athletes and parents should let the office know of specific needs/concerns of the athlete (i.e.specific allergies, medical conditions, personal care issues or medications). If a coach is not aware of such situations, not only can it be very dangerous for the athlete involved, but it can also pose inconvenience for all involved. There are specific forms that must be filled out before an athlete can attend such events. Special Olympics head office needs to emphasize that all forms be filled out properly before an athlete attends out of town events. 20. On holidays where practices are not cancelled, teams can fall short of athletes. For instance, practices aren’t usually cancelled for Jewish holidays. One athlete wondered if practices should be rescheduled for such holidays. 21. It would be great if practices could be rescheduled if they are cancelled due to bad weather, however facility permits are often only good for a certain length of time. Additionally, coach availability has to be taken into consideration. Some coaches are only available on certain days. 22. There are many athletes in Region 11 (close to 1475). There are also about 300 coaches. 23. One member of the committee inquired about volunteering at the Provincials in Niagara Falls next year. Another member of the committee inquired about volunteering at the Fall Conference. 24. Time zone changes can affect many athletes greatly when they are competing in another part of Canada/the world. This is something that all coaches and athletes must keep in mind. Attending events early so that there can be an adjustment to the time changes/weather differences is very important. The first day should be set aside for relaxing. 25. Opening ceremonies are longer depending on the type of event (i.e. Regionals/Provincials/Nationals/Worlds). This is partly due to the number of athletes in attendance. 26. Athletes discussed the possibility of having these meetings earlier, as it is now getting darker earlier. Jill will send Pat Phillip an e-mail to see if the meetings can start at 6:00p.m. Jill will contact each athlete about what time the meetings will start. 27. Athletes reviewed ground rules for the meetings. They are as follows: * Everyone is valuable * It’s o.k. to disagree on some things. * Everyone needs a chance to participate. * There are times when people don’t feel like talking. * I am the expert on how I feel. The next meeting will take place on Monday October 4th, 2004. Home || Sports || Events || Volunteering || Donations || Links || Contact Us |
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