Special Olympics New York Western Region

Just a reminder... ALL expenses MUST be pre-approved, in writing. Bills and invoices will NOT be paid unless it was pre-approved. Special Olympics must be fiscally responsible in these financial hard times and appreciates the cooperation from all coaches and volunteers in adhering to this process. If you are unsure of something... ASK!

Coaching/Volunteer Certification

In order to be a coach, you MUST have a current sport certification. These are good for 4 years. The background check is good for 3 years. There is no "grandfather" clause so every head coach needs to keep a current certification. The best way to get re-certified is to attend our seasonal conferences. The good news is that once you receive your re-certification, you automatically become re-certified in all other sports you have been certified in.

In addition, ALL volunteers and coaches must complete a volunteer application (background check) and protective behaviors online. If you have not done so, the link can be found in the Quick Links section of the Program Report at the top. It is recommended that when you complete the protective behaviors online, print out the completion letter for your own records.

Coaches will not be permitted to attend State Games without a sport specific certification. This may in turn deny athletes the opportunity to attend State Games.

If you are unsure of your coach/volunteer status please contact me and I can let you know where you are at.

Rosters Needed!

Please take note, rosters are REQUIRED to be on file (along with up to date meds/consents) for an athlete/team to register for ANY competition.

Effective immediately, in order for an athlete/team to compete in any competition, a roster must be submitted at least 8 weeks prior to the competition. This is to ensure each athlete is accounted for and is training. Even if you don't think a particular athlete will ever compete, put them on the roster anyway!

Please make sure you are using the proper roster form and include every coach that is working with the team.

All registrations will be processed through the software program that Special Olympics uses. Registration deadlines will be set to get them to me to process.

ROSTERS AND A LIST OF ROSTER DEADLINES CAN BE FOUND ON THE ONLINE FILE FOLDER

Upcoming Events

basketball

Western Central Local Basketball Tournament

March 14th

at the Clearfield Community Center directed by Debbie Fleetwood and Greg Belile

Regiatraion forms are due February 20th to the Regional Office

The roster deadline has already passed. If you have not submitted a summer roster please contact Shelby Baker immediately

8:00 AM Registration

8:30 AM Openining Ceremonies

8:45 AM Coaches Meeting (Team and Skills)

Competition Begins

*The information packet can be found on the online file folder*

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Western Central Local Aquatics

March 28th

at the Alumni Arena Pool at the University of Buffalo

Directed by Jackie Starks

8:30-9:000 AM Warm-ups

9:00-9:00 AM Openening Ceremonies

9:15-12:30 PM Swim Meet

The roster deadline has already passed. If you have not submitted a summer roster please contact Shelby Baker immediately

Registrations** are due by March 7th to the Regional Office

*The information packet can be found on the online file folder*

** Please make note on the registration form if you are entering an athlete in an event being offered that is not listed on the registration form. Also, please make sure to submit the Special Request form with your registration.

Get Files Online!

Need a roster? Need a registration? Need a new medical/consent form? Find many of the forms needed on the new online file folder. Here you can download forms. Click on the picture to the right and it will take you to the website. If you think of a form that would be useful to have available please notify Shelby.

Make sure you bookmark the webpage!

Summer Conference!

Have you marked the Summer Conference on your calendar? If not please plan on attending the Summer Conference on Saturday, March 7th at Niagara University.

Niagara University is excited to host this event and continue our partnership

Registration will be online shortly.

The exact schedule is still being finalized which will be posted online with the registration

Aquatics and Basketball will both be offered as part of the sport certification

The Summer Season is our biggest season! It is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED that EVERY coach attend the confernce. This is the best way to get important information about the upcoming season and get certified/re-certified. Important updates regarding new policies and procedures will be addressed as well. STAY INFORMED!

If you ar a head coach, please encourage your coaches/volunteers to attend

Program Committee

The Western Region Program Committee most recently met Tuesday, February 10th. The Program Committee had many great ideas and contributions which will benefit the region.

Members of the Program Committee have a great interest and commitment to the Western Region. The primary goals will include support to the advancement of program initiatives, the advancement of our movement and support for the region; assuring that the goals are focused on program quality, consistency and credibility

Does this sound like something you would like to do?

We generally meet 4-6 times a year. We try to move the location depending on where people are coming from. If you are unavailable to attend a meeting we can set up a phone conference for people to call in.

Please contact me if you are interested or have any questions.

Winter Games

Winter Games 2009 was yet another successful weekend.

A big thanks to Vaughn Keller for representing the Western Region as the Head of Delegation.

The Western Region had a representation of 85 athletes and 22 coaches at the State Games brining home 22 Gold Medals!

A special congratulations to the Chautauqua Lakers Floor Hockey team winning gold medal in sudden death overtime!

I saw a lot of smiling faces and people being brave in the attempt so congratulations to everyone who participated

For some great pictures of the Games go to the Special Olympics NY Homepage FOUND HERE

Social Security Numbers?

I have received many inquires regarding social security numbers on medical/consent forms and registration forms. Only the LAST 4 #s need to be listed. This is used as a way to identify each athlete and as a safeguard incase athletes' have the same name and/or birthdate. The registration forms on the online file folder have been updated to reflect this. Forms on the specialolympics.org website have NOT been updated.

Best Buddies Program

A message from Jennifer Dreyer, Buffalo State University:

Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization that's dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by helping to create one-to-one, lifelong friendships with their non-disabled peers.

At Best Buddies Buffalo State we get involved in the community. Each person will receive their own buddy (college student or person with disability) that they will attend meetings and activities with. We are looking for 20-25 people with disabilities who would be willing to participate. Transportation is not provided unless contacted 48 hours before each meeting.