Articles from December 2017

Starting October 1, 2017 Special Olympics will require all athletes joining Special Olympics Iowa to complete newly updated Release and Medical Forms.

These new forms will take the place of the Physical and Consent Forms that SOIA required athletes to fill out in the past. Any athlete with a current Physical and Consent Form on file will NOT need to renew with the new forms until their current physical expires.

Before athletes can begin competition in SOIA, they must submit the following forms:

• Athlete Information Form (renewed every 3 years)
• Participant Release Form
• Medical Forms
  • Health History
  • Physical Exam (renewed every 3 years)
  • Referral Form (if required)

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Special Olympics Iowa would like to welcome the newest member of the state office team, Office Administrator Tricia Wheeler!

Wheeler started with SOIA in August to provide administrative support and oversee general office operations. Wheeler previously worked in health care before coming to SOIA, but she is no stranger to the organization, serving as a volunteer at past SOIA events. Originally from the Cedar Rapids area, Wheeler attended Kirkwood Community College, Cornell College, and AIB College of Business. She now lives in the Des Moines area with her daughter, who is a full-time college student.

In her free time, Wheeler works with Forte International Exchange Association, where she works with volunteer host families as they except exchange students into their home. Wheeler has even hosted exchange students in her own home before.

Wheeler is excited about her new position with SOIA and looks forward to the upcoming events in the fall. “I look forward to meeting new people and hope to be a positive addition to the already great team. I have volunteered in the past and look forward to being a cheerleader at events.”

Welcome, Tricia!

We are pleased to inform you that the 2017-2018 Coaches’ Guide is completed and available on our website. The updated guide is an easy to use, comprehensive resource for delegation managers and coaches.

The 2017-2018 Coaches’ Guide was updated in July 2017 and is good for one year. This version of the guide contains important updates on policies and forms. All changes are highlighted in blue in the guide.

See the Coaches’ Guide

For more information, contact:
Sally Briggs, Program Administrative Assistant
515-986-5520

From Special Olympics North America: 

Special Olympics values the safety of all athletes and their use of appropriate protective equipment. This memo is to advise Special Olympics Programs on new FIS standards for alpine ski helmets.

In order to improve safety, the USSA Alpine Sports Committee has confirmed that the regulations requiring the use of helmets for Giant Slalom, Super-G and Downhill that meet new FIS standards will be mandatory for all competitors in the 2016-2017 season. Special Olympics Sports recently adopted these requirements.

The new FIS helmet certification standards will be phased In during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons. (USSA “Ski Helmet Regulations” are available on the USSA web site at http://ussa.org/alpine-programs/masters/rules).

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Special Olympics Iowa is pleased to announce the 2018 Team Iowa members going to USA Games next year in Seattle! One year from now – July 1-6, 2018 – more than 4,000 Special Olympics athletes and coaches from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will gather in Seattle to compete before tens of thousands of spectators and volunteers. The 2018 USA Games will showcase the limitless talents of people with intellectual disabilities while promoting the barrier-breaking power of sport to promote inclusion and acceptance. …

Special Olympics Iowa is happy to announce the newest addition to the SOIA staff. Mary Besler joined the Law Enforcement Torch Run team in July as the new LETR Event Coordinator. Besler will work closely with law enforcement volunteers to organize fundraising events for SOIA.

Originally from Iowa City, Besler attended Ellsworth Community College her first two years of school and played volleyball before transferring and graduating from the University of Northern Iowa in May 2016 with a degree in public relations. Before coming to SOIA, Besler worked for the Iowa City Downtown District doing events and marketing.

Besler is excited to get started in her new role at SOIA. “I’m excited to be working for Special Olympics because I have always admired this organization and what it does. I love planning events, so I am thrilled to be doing that for Special Olympics.”

Welcome to the team, Mary!

Come join Special Olympics Iowa at the 2017 Iowa State Fair!

On Friday, August 18, SOIA will be co-hosting the second annual Adaptive Sports on the Grand Concourse day with our friends from Adaptive Sports Iowa and Courage League Sports. The day will consist of games of power soccer, wheelchair basketball and bocce as well as equipment demonstrations and program overviews. It will be a day to show how sports can be adaptive for inclusion so everyone can participate. …

On Saturday, June 24th the Des Moines Register honored the 12 Special Olympics Iowa athletes they chose to be on the All-Iowa Elite Athletes Team for the year. The All-Iowa Elite team is made up of three male and three female athletes, as well as three pairs of Unified Sports partners.

Congratulations to the following winners from SOIA:

Isaac Baldus, Male Athlete of the Year
Madison Ebrecht, Female Athlete of the Year
Kaitlin Bockenstedt and Chloe Meyers, Unified Team of the Year …

By Bryan Coffey, Director of Unified Sports and Volunteers

On June 5, 2017, Special Olympics Iowa hosted its first-ever Unified Champion Schools Youth Summit. This was an exciting opportunity for student youth leadership teams to interact with other student leaders from around the state of Iowa. Our main objective for the 2017 Youth Summit was to help students to excel in leadership roles within their schools.

Four Iowa high schools brought students to participate in this program. These schools each represented different regions of our state, which encouraged great conversations and learning opportunities. The schools were:

• Ankeny Centennial High School (West Central Region)
• Spencer High School (North Region)
• Wayne Community High School ( South Central Region)
• Western Dubuque High school ( East Region)

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Special Olympics Iowa is excited to introduce its new Director of Athlete Initiatives, Wendy Olinger.

Wendy has been a supporter of Special Olympics for 23 years. She has served as a volunteer and coach in the areas of bowling, basketball, skiing, swimming, track/field, cheerleading, cycling, Challenge Days and golf. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, where she studied special education. She also has a master’s degree in deaf education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Before coming to SOIA, Olinger worked as a severe and profound special education teacher in Marshalltown, Iowa for 13 years. Olinger has also worked at various day camps and respite camps for individuals with disabilities across the state of Iowa.

As Director of Athlete Initiatives, Olinger will be responsible for Special Programs like Play Days, Challenge Days and Healthy Athletes. She will also be working closely with SOIA Global Messengers, helping them write speeches and be leaders in the community.  …