| Winter Games Quotas are in! | | It's time to start thinking about who you want to take to the Winter Games in Rochester in February! Demand Case Surveys are due December 10th. Athletes cannot participate in Winter Games if this survey is not returned to the Regional office. Depending on how many spots Western Region is allocated will determine how many athletes get to go to Winter Games. The Demand Case Survey can be found on our new ONLINE FOLDER! | | Do you know a young future Special Olympics Athlete? | | Western Region currently does not have any Young Athletes Programs established! Help start a program! About Young Athletes
Young Athletes introduces children with intellectual disabilities and their families to the world of Special Olympics by pursuing the following goals: *Engage children with intellectual disabilities through developmentally appropriate play activities designed to foster physical, cognitive, and social development; *Welcome family members of children with intellectual disabilities to the Special Olympics network of support; *Raise awareness about the abilities of children with intellectual disabilities through inclusive peer participation, demonstrations and other events. Young Athletes is a versatile program that can work in various learning situations. The program is designed for families to play with their young athletes at home in a fun atmosphere. It is also appropriate for preschools, schools and playgroups to use with small groups of young children with and without intellectual disabilities. The flexibility of Young Athletes ensures the opportunity to welcome families and their young children into the Special Olympics family. The Young Athletes program includes several resources to guide family members, educators and other professionals as they conduct Young Athletes activities with their children, brothers, sisters, cousins, grandchildren, students or patients. For more information on how to get started email Shelby Baker at sbaker@nyso.org | | | | 
We advertised a new ski club at Kissing Bridge, but have not received many responses. We can't lose this opportunity for the athletes! This is a great opportunity to get more athletes involved and hopefully have some Western athletes attend future competitions. Please contact Shelby Baker if you are interested in coaching/volunteering or if you know of some athletes that might be interested in participating. __________________________ | | Are you a Leader? | | 
We are looking for some people to become an Event Director of a few competitions. We would help you through the process in coordinating the event. Contact Shelby Baker if you would like more information on possibly being an Event Director. It's a great chance to become more involved and help make the magic happen. | | World Games Athletes | |  If you didn't know, Special Olympics has 10 athletes going to the 2009 World Winter Games! 2 of those athletes are from the Western Region! Ashley Blasdell (snowshoe) and Deena Johnson (Figure Skating) are very excited to go! They will be traveling to Colorado for training camp in December and then to Boise, Idaho for the World Games in February. We are very proud of Ashley and Deena. Click on the Logo and you can get to know our New York World Games Athletes. There is a section on each of the athlete's pages to make donations. Feel free to make a donation to help make this trip possible for these girls.
| | Calendar of Events | | Western Region Calendar There are a few more events to be added. If you see any errors please let contact Shelby. Also, you can look at the other region's calendars to see what events they have going on. If you have a team that there is not a competition for that sport in the West you can potentially compete in another region's competition. Super Regionals are open to any team of any region! _________________________ | | Submitting Rosters | | Please take note of the new Roster submission procedure: At the beginning of each season, each training club is required to fill out a team roster including coach and athlete information. This allows us to keep more organized and know what training clubs and what coaches/athletes are participating each season. I understand that there are many training clubs that participate in more than one season and use the same athletes. If this is the case, please let the Program Director know at the beginning of the season and the previous roster will be used. This can only be used if the training club is using the same athletes and coaches as a previous season. | | Future Events | | Western South Snowshoeing Tuesday January 13, 2009
Western South X Country Skiing Saturday, January 17, 2009
Western Central Senior Bowling Sunday, January 18, 2009
Upstate Winter Skating Classic Sunday January 18, 2009
Western South Floor Hockey Saturday, January 24, 2009 Western South Iceskating Tuesday, January 26, 2009 Western North Floor Hockey January, 2009 (Date not determined)
More information including registrations and deadlines will become available closer to the event.
| | Conference Information | | Winter Sports Conference 2008 Registration is now online! Find it HERE Date: Saturday December 6th Time: 9:00am-3:00pm (Check-In 8:30am) Location: St. Bonaventure University
3261 West State Road
St. Bonaventure, NY 14778 St. Bonaventure is excited to host the conference and be a part of Special Olympics. Let's show them Western New York's committment to Special Olympics by having a great turnout! Why should you attend?
*It is the quickest way to get all of the information pertaining to the region including new policies and/or procedures *Update your existing certification and background check (needs to be done every 3 years). *Get certified in new sports or learn new coaching concepts in sports where you have previous certification. *Keep up to date with the changes at Special Olympics-learn the new concepts. *Complete online Protective Behaviors. *Meet all the amazing volunteers from around the region. *Coaches Recognition-attend 3 consecutive conferences and receive a great Special Olympics Coaching Bag Concerned about the distance to the Conference??? Transportation WILL be provided from the area that has the most registrants. (For example, if most people that register are from Erie County, a bus will leave from Erie County, but other people from surrounding areas may utilize the transportation. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE AND REQUEST TRANSPORTATION. If not enough people request transportation, it will not be provided. Schedule: Can be found on the web at the registration page | | | | 
Did you know that we have various volunteer opportunities at every competition and event that we host? If interested feel free to contact Shelby Baker at sbaker@nyso.org or call the office at 716-850-3346.
Special Olympics Western Region is also now listed on www.VolunteerMatch.com. Visit the site today; volunteering is just a click away! | | Fundraising Opportunities | POLAR PLUNGE IS THIS SATURDAY!!! Even if you are not plunging come out to support those that are! There are GREAT incentives for top fundraisers! 
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Beaver Island State Park, Grand Island, New York
Registration begins at 9:00am
Plunge - NOON
We're Freezin for a Reason again in Western New York!
If you plan on Plunging, make sure you establish your team website where friends and family can make donations online. Check out the website on the Polar Plunge Quick Links *We also need about 20 volunteers to help run this event, so if you or someone you know is interested, contact Melissa Wiggins at the email above. ____________________ | | "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."
~Athlete Oath
| | Shelby Baker 8207 Main Street, Suite 13 Special Olympics New York 716-850-3346 |
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