Recently, an extensive assessment process was undertaken by a
committee composed of SOMD staff, Board Members, Area/County Directors
and Coaches which lead to decisions which we believe will greatly
improve experiences for our athletes. The two primary changes are (1.)
creating a new three season Sports Calendar and (2.) identifying sports
that are sanctioned by SOMD as “State Level”, or “Locally Popular”.
Both Changes allow for athletes to receive better training, coaches to be more successful in the outcomes they seek, and resources to be utilized much more effectively and efficiently.
Three Season Sports Calendar
Effective fall of 2012, SOMD will organize its sports into three defined seasons; fall (August – October); winter (December – February); spring (April – June). Planning months will be July, November and March.
Prior to the start of each season there is a planning month during which coaches are trained, athletes are registered, preparations are finalized for practices to begin, and the sports competition schedule is distributed.
A three month sport season allows athletes to train up to twelve weeks, which now gives coaches a greater capacity to improve skills, increase sports knowledge, and better condition their athletes. Athletes and teams have more time to develop friendships, enjoy camaraderie, and learn valuable life lessons that come about as a result of being part of a team.
The 12-week training season was favored by many constituents and stakeholders, as well as the governing body of SOMD, Special Olympics International.
For more information on the three season sports calendar please click here.
State Sanctioned Sports vs Locally Popular Sports
During the evaluations process which involved Area/County directors and coaches, Special Olympics Maryland needed to determine those sports which required the most resources and best met the seven founding principles of the Special Olympics movement. This enabled us to discover sports that impacted the greatest number of athletes throughout the state, required the greatest investment of funding, personnel, and with whom there were community partnerships. It also uncovered sports that served a small number of athletes and did not meet some of the seven founding principles.
In order to maximize the experiences of those sports impacting the greatest number of athletes, difficult decisions needed to be made which resulted in the majority of our current sport options being classified as state sanctioned sports while a small group of sports were reclassified as locally popular sports.
It is important to understand that state sanctioned and locally popular sports can be offered by all local programs. Athletes training in these sports will continue to train and have competition options available.
A state sanctioned sport will be offered at Special Olympics Maryland State level competitions and be the primary means for athletes to advance to National and World Games. A locally popular sport will not be offered at Special Olympics Maryland state level competitions. The opportunities for athletes in these sports to advance to National and World Games would be available on a limited basis.
Special Olympics Maryland has been able to reach a large number of new high school athletes and their families through the Interscholastic Unified Sports programs. While we have experienced significant growth, the resources to conduct these programs have primarily come from two sources: (1.) All funding needed to conduct these programs over the past three years has come from federal and state grants as well as revenue raised by students through Cool Schools at the MSP Polar Bear Plunge; (2) Facilities, coaches, and resources which were provided through the partnering school systems. In fact 2011 Interscholastic Unified Sports and Cool Schools Revenue exceeded Expenses by $153,750.
Review Process by Sports Committee
As SOMD has continued to grow and change, we recognize the importance of continually evaluating the effectiveness of our programs, and of maximizing our resources, as well as respecting the time and energy of our athletes, coaches and volunteers.
And, as with any process that may result in change which impacts athletes in any way, we undertook this process with a seriousness of purpose and a commitment to achieving the best possible results. With that in mind, a Board-driven Sports Committee was convened in July 2011. The committee was equally represented by board members, staff, area/county directors, coaches, and parents, allowing for a thoughtful and careful review as well as a broad understanding of the impact of the committee’s recommendation. The purpose of the Sports Committee was as follows: “Determine future successful SOMD sports programming through the establishment of consistent decision making guidelines. Develop a model that supports viable and sustainable growth.”
Convening this important committee was also in keeping with the recommendations of SOI. In 2010, they convened a Global Congress meeting as part of extensive field information gathering designed to shape the 2011-2015 Global Special Olympics Strategic Plan. At this meeting, athletes from around the world weighed in on current issues surrounding Special Olympics. One of that body’s key recommendations was increasing the training period for all sports from 8 to 12 weeks.
Other Sports Changes
Other key recommendations of the Sports Committee include the reclassification of four sports (Floor Hockey, Cross Country Skiing, Equestrian and Sailing) from State Sanctioned Sports to Locally Popular Sports. Under this reclassification, these sports will no longer be offered at the state-level; however, they will be offered on a local and regional level, meaning that they will remain available to interested athletes.
The changes to the aforementioned sports (Floor Hockey, Cross Country Skiing, Equestrian and Sailing) were prompted by a review of all existing sports that were offered at the state and local level. Sports committee members objectively evaluated each sport using a matrix that included participation, growth trends, state and Area/County financial costs, resources available and founding principles met. The low rankings of the aforementioned four sports indicated that a move was necessary to address their continued viability as state sanctioned sports. This change in classification is in no way indicative of a lack of support for the athletes who have here-to-for competed in these sports and who wish to continue to do so. Rather the decision is based on the trends and patterns that are evident within our sports programs and a realistic need to maximize resources.
It is in fact Special Olympics Maryland’s sincere belief that under the new system, the re-allocation of resources from these four events, including funding, volunteers and fans, will only help to improve and re-strengthen the other 20+ sports that we host statewide.
With these changes and going forward, Special Olympics Maryland will continue to provide technical assistance and help for those counties interested in hosting these sports at the local level, and find additional training and competitive opportunities within the state and with surrounding state Special Olympics programs. In fact, it is likely that athletes who wish to continue with these sports will enjoy greater gains in their skills and experience by participating within more robust programs where the competition is greater and the sport is thriving.
Athletes in these sports can and should continue to train at the Area/County level following the National Governing Body and Special Olympics Sports Rules.
SOMD will work with all of these locally popular sports participants to ensure they have every opportunity to qualify for advancement to National and World Games provided they meet criteria set out by those Games Organizing Committees and the Special Olympics competition advancement rules. All athletes and volunteers involved in these sports will continue to be covered by our current secondary insurance policy. This is contingent upon SOMD being aware that these programs exist via current and updated training rosters.
The responsibility of Special Olympics Maryland (SOMD) is to ensure our athletes receive quality programming and our coaches are provided with the resources to conduct the highest level of training. Evaluating the structure of our sports programs enables us to determine better ways to meet the needs of our athletes.
Both Changes allow for athletes to receive better training, coaches to be more successful in the outcomes they seek, and resources to be utilized much more effectively and efficiently.
Three Season Sports Calendar
Effective fall of 2012, SOMD will organize its sports into three defined seasons; fall (August – October); winter (December – February); spring (April – June). Planning months will be July, November and March.
Prior to the start of each season there is a planning month during which coaches are trained, athletes are registered, preparations are finalized for practices to begin, and the sports competition schedule is distributed.
A three month sport season allows athletes to train up to twelve weeks, which now gives coaches a greater capacity to improve skills, increase sports knowledge, and better condition their athletes. Athletes and teams have more time to develop friendships, enjoy camaraderie, and learn valuable life lessons that come about as a result of being part of a team.
The 12-week training season was favored by many constituents and stakeholders, as well as the governing body of SOMD, Special Olympics International.
For more information on the three season sports calendar please click here.
State Sanctioned Sports vs Locally Popular Sports
During the evaluations process which involved Area/County directors and coaches, Special Olympics Maryland needed to determine those sports which required the most resources and best met the seven founding principles of the Special Olympics movement. This enabled us to discover sports that impacted the greatest number of athletes throughout the state, required the greatest investment of funding, personnel, and with whom there were community partnerships. It also uncovered sports that served a small number of athletes and did not meet some of the seven founding principles.
In order to maximize the experiences of those sports impacting the greatest number of athletes, difficult decisions needed to be made which resulted in the majority of our current sport options being classified as state sanctioned sports while a small group of sports were reclassified as locally popular sports.
It is important to understand that state sanctioned and locally popular sports can be offered by all local programs. Athletes training in these sports will continue to train and have competition options available.
A state sanctioned sport will be offered at Special Olympics Maryland State level competitions and be the primary means for athletes to advance to National and World Games. A locally popular sport will not be offered at Special Olympics Maryland state level competitions. The opportunities for athletes in these sports to advance to National and World Games would be available on a limited basis.
Special Olympics Maryland has been able to reach a large number of new high school athletes and their families through the Interscholastic Unified Sports programs. While we have experienced significant growth, the resources to conduct these programs have primarily come from two sources: (1.) All funding needed to conduct these programs over the past three years has come from federal and state grants as well as revenue raised by students through Cool Schools at the MSP Polar Bear Plunge; (2) Facilities, coaches, and resources which were provided through the partnering school systems. In fact 2011 Interscholastic Unified Sports and Cool Schools Revenue exceeded Expenses by $153,750.
Review Process by Sports Committee
As SOMD has continued to grow and change, we recognize the importance of continually evaluating the effectiveness of our programs, and of maximizing our resources, as well as respecting the time and energy of our athletes, coaches and volunteers.
And, as with any process that may result in change which impacts athletes in any way, we undertook this process with a seriousness of purpose and a commitment to achieving the best possible results. With that in mind, a Board-driven Sports Committee was convened in July 2011. The committee was equally represented by board members, staff, area/county directors, coaches, and parents, allowing for a thoughtful and careful review as well as a broad understanding of the impact of the committee’s recommendation. The purpose of the Sports Committee was as follows: “Determine future successful SOMD sports programming through the establishment of consistent decision making guidelines. Develop a model that supports viable and sustainable growth.”
Convening this important committee was also in keeping with the recommendations of SOI. In 2010, they convened a Global Congress meeting as part of extensive field information gathering designed to shape the 2011-2015 Global Special Olympics Strategic Plan. At this meeting, athletes from around the world weighed in on current issues surrounding Special Olympics. One of that body’s key recommendations was increasing the training period for all sports from 8 to 12 weeks.
Other Sports Changes
Other key recommendations of the Sports Committee include the reclassification of four sports (Floor Hockey, Cross Country Skiing, Equestrian and Sailing) from State Sanctioned Sports to Locally Popular Sports. Under this reclassification, these sports will no longer be offered at the state-level; however, they will be offered on a local and regional level, meaning that they will remain available to interested athletes.
The changes to the aforementioned sports (Floor Hockey, Cross Country Skiing, Equestrian and Sailing) were prompted by a review of all existing sports that were offered at the state and local level. Sports committee members objectively evaluated each sport using a matrix that included participation, growth trends, state and Area/County financial costs, resources available and founding principles met. The low rankings of the aforementioned four sports indicated that a move was necessary to address their continued viability as state sanctioned sports. This change in classification is in no way indicative of a lack of support for the athletes who have here-to-for competed in these sports and who wish to continue to do so. Rather the decision is based on the trends and patterns that are evident within our sports programs and a realistic need to maximize resources.
It is in fact Special Olympics Maryland’s sincere belief that under the new system, the re-allocation of resources from these four events, including funding, volunteers and fans, will only help to improve and re-strengthen the other 20+ sports that we host statewide.
With these changes and going forward, Special Olympics Maryland will continue to provide technical assistance and help for those counties interested in hosting these sports at the local level, and find additional training and competitive opportunities within the state and with surrounding state Special Olympics programs. In fact, it is likely that athletes who wish to continue with these sports will enjoy greater gains in their skills and experience by participating within more robust programs where the competition is greater and the sport is thriving.
Athletes in these sports can and should continue to train at the Area/County level following the National Governing Body and Special Olympics Sports Rules.
SOMD will work with all of these locally popular sports participants to ensure they have every opportunity to qualify for advancement to National and World Games provided they meet criteria set out by those Games Organizing Committees and the Special Olympics competition advancement rules. All athletes and volunteers involved in these sports will continue to be covered by our current secondary insurance policy. This is contingent upon SOMD being aware that these programs exist via current and updated training rosters.
The responsibility of Special Olympics Maryland (SOMD) is to ensure our athletes receive quality programming and our coaches are provided with the resources to conduct the highest level of training. Evaluating the structure of our sports programs enables us to determine better ways to meet the needs of our athletes.
