Team Highland Prepare To Jet Off to The Special Olympics
On the 24th July `Team Highland` will be getting `piped off` to The Special Olympics when they depart from Inverness Airport on their chartered flight to Leicester to compete in which will be the largest sporting event to be held in the UK in 2009. This is the largest ever squad assembled to travel out of the Highlands for such a competition which is due to the increased numbers of disabled sportspeople throughout the Highlands participating in sport locally.
The Special Olympics GB National Summer Games will be held in Leicester between the 25th and 31st July 2009. Over 2,700 athletes representing 19 Special Olympics regions across the UK will visit the city of Leicester over the seven day period along with 1200 coaches and 1500 volunteers.
The 2,700 athletes will compete in a range of Olympic style sports competitions across the city. Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Leicester City Football Club and Rutland Water are just some of the 21 sporting venues to host the 2009 Games.
Team Highland will be participating in 8 sports and have 108 in their team comprising of 69 athletes and 39 coaches and support people. The sports they will be competing in are athletics, swimming, bowls, football, golf, boccia, badminton and ten pin.
All the athletes have been training regularly all year for this event as part of the Special Olympics Development programme thanks to £10,000 funding from an `Awards for All` grant from the lottery fund.
Team Highlands main sponsor is building firm `Tulloch Group`who gave £40,000 to the team and Chief Executive David Sutherland CBE will be there to wave the team off on the morning of the flight. The Highland Council also contributed £10,000 for the team.
The Games were last held 4 years ago in Glasgow and Team Highland returned with 75 medals over all the sports and are hopeful of an even bigger haul this time.
The Head of Delegation for the Team is Janet Home currently the Chairperson and a founder member of Highland Disability Sport and this will be her first trip to The Special Olympics.
Janet was encouraged to attend by The Highland Councils, Disability Sports Officer, Charlie Forbes who said : “Janet has been very instrumental for her involvement with disabled sport for a number of years and has never been to The Special Olympics. It was only fitting that she should be our Head of Delegation to sample what will be one of the most inspirational sporting spectacles to witness in this country.”
Charlie who will be one of the overall Team Managers along with Sue Banks will also be joined by Highland Disability Sport Administrator Lesley Jones who will be Assistant Head of Delegation.
ENDS