Director's Corner

I wish to make athletes, parents, and caregivers aware that after discussions with Special Olympics, Inc., and Special Olympics North America, Special Olympics Maryland (SOMD) will be enforcing age group regulations for teams in the upcoming sports season.  The age groupings that SOMD will use are  8 - 11, 12 - 15, 16 - 21, 22 - 39, 40 and over.  Additional groups may be possible in the 22 and over group,  depending on the numbers of adult participants.  The regulatory article, Article 1 of the Sports Rules is available on Special Olympics USA's web site.  See  Sports Rules, Article 1 for details (scroll down to Section H on page 7).  Note that SOMD has decided to subdivide the upper and lower age groupings for teams.  SOMD has an explanation of and the underlying rationale for the policy available on their web site.  See the Explanation and Rationale here.

The Davidsonville Athletic Association is offering a new Adaptive Lacrosse program for athletes with disabilities, ages 6 and up.  Registration is now available on their web site, www.dagators.org, on a first come, first served basis.  Follow the links for Registration, and Register Now, and select Adaptive Lacrosse.  Upon completion of the registration form you will be taken to the payment process.  People interested in volunteering with the program should also go to their web site, click on the Commissioners/Administrators link, and scroll down to the Volunteers/Coaches registration link.  Please note that this program is not a part of Special Olympics. For more information, see their web page,  Davidsonville Adaptive Lacrosse, or contact adaptivelax@gmail.com.

Earlier this year, I was contacted by the Cicso Center because they need our help so they can continue to offer their services to our community.  If you can help, please see their flyer concerning the loss of their facility to a fire in early February.

For Facebook fans, we now have a group in Facebook - Special Olympics Maryland, Anne Arundel County.  Thanks to Nina Marcellino for making the suggestion, then taking the lead in making this happen. See our Facebook Page here.

The 50 Wishes Children's Charity Campaign has chosen our program to be one of the beneficiaries of its fund raising efforts, along with the Ronald McDonald House and the Make a Wish Foundation.  Click here to see their special Events web page.

If you have any questions about our program, feel free to contact me, via phone, fax, e-mail, or regular post, and I will respond as quickly as I can.

Gregg Meade greggmeade@verizon.net

Coming Events

Coaches' training
through Special Olympics Maryland.  Their
Coaches Page has a link to their calendar of upcoming events, including coaches' trainings.
Coaches should advise Gregg Meade when they plan to attend these classes.

Current sports:
Cycling
Golf
Powerlifting
Soccer
Tenpin Bowling
Tennis

September
12 Tenpin Qualifier
SOMD Southern Regional Tournament
Ritchie Fairlanes Glen Burnie
25 Cycling Tournament
SOMD Mid-Fall Classic
Sykesville, MD
SOMD Golf Skills Tournament
Blue Mash Golf Course
Laytonsville, MD
26 SOMD Golf Alternate Shot Tournament
Compass Pointe Golf Course
Pasadena, MD

October
23 Powerlifting & Tennis Tournament
SOMD Fall Sports Fest
Mount St. Mary's College
Emmitsburg, MD
24 Soccer Tournament
SOMD Fall Sports Fest
Crown Sports Center
Eden, MD