The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
The age of eligibility to train and compete in Special Olympics is age 8 and older. The Young Athletes Program-YAP was designed to welcome younger children and their families into the world of Special Olympics to make friends, expand networks and enjoy movement and sport.
About The Special Olympics Young Athletes Program
Young Athletes introduces children with intellectual disabilities and their families to the world of Special Olympics by pursuing the following goals:
Engage children with intellectual disabilities through developmentally appropriate play activities designed to foster physical, cognitive, and social development;
Welcome family members of children with intellectual disabilities to the Special Olympics network of support;
Raise awareness about the abilities of children with intellectual disabilities through inclusive peer participation, demonstrations and other events.
Young Athletes is a versatile program that can work in various learning situations. The program is designed for families to play with their young athletes at home in a fun atmosphere. It is also appropriate for preschools, schools and playgroups to use with small groups of young children with and without intellectual disabilities. The flexibility of Young Athletes ensures the opportunity to welcome families and their young children into the Special Olympics family.
The Young Athletes program includes several resources to guide family members, educators and other professionals as they conduct Young Athletes activities with their children, brothers, sisters, cousins, grandchildren, students or patients.
Young Athletes Activities Guide - descriptions of the official Young Athletes activities;
Training DVD - instructional video of children performing the Young Athletes activities;
Young Athletes Equipment Kit - equipment needed to perform the activities;
www.specialolympics.org/youngathletes – further resources, materials and information.
Special Olympics Maryland- Montgomery County is very excited to announce our first YAP Program plans:
We plan to start small: our first season of 6 weeks will be held at the Potomac Community Center on Falls Road in Potomac. (11315 Falls Road – Potomac- 20854)*
The first class of SOMO YAP is filled, but if you are interested in the program please contact Pam Yerg for details on next season’s class...already in the planning stages. We will meet on Sundays from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM beginning on April 6th.
SOMO YAP is open to children ages 2-7 with intellectual disabilities and their families.
YAP is a family-driven program and it is required that at least one adult family member attend each session with your child. You will learn wonderful sports-related activities that you can take home and enjoy with the rest of the family!
If you have other children (age 3-10) and would like to include them in the program activities, they are welcome to come and participate as “Unified Partners”. Unified Sport is a Special Olympics concept that pairs people with and without disabilities together as team mates. Your child would work alongside you and your YAP athlete and share in the excitement of the program. Because the YAP program focus is first on our YAP athletes, please consider carefully if your other child/children will be a “good fit” for program participation; and if their participation will enhance your enjoyment and the enjoyment of your YAP athlete.
Additionally, if you have children age 12-16 and they would like to participate in the YAP Program as Special Olympics volunteers, earning community service hours and building their leadership skills, please contact me and we will have them complete a volunteer application.
Although the Potomac Community Center has been very generous in donating the gym space to our program, the nature of the program requires that we have a manageable number of participants and therefore will need to limit the size of the “team” to 12-14 YAP athletes in this session. Love it! What do I do next?
Please respond asap as to your interest in participation in this program. If this time and day does not work into your family schedule, we are also looking at adding a Saturday session in the Fall season. Please email or call me to let me know your intentions for this season or future seasons. Pam Yerg (301) 424-3083 / jeyclan@verizon.net.
I will email you a Special Olympics 2 page Application for Participation ( SOMO medical) and a welcome letter that will walk you through the application process. You can bring the completed medical to the first session on April 6th. If your other children will also participate, they will need to have applications completed as well. There is no fee associated with this program. We only require you to provide enthusiasm, and a willingness to have FUN! Oh yes, we also will require adults to complete a Volunteer application (after that, it will be fun!)
We encourage you to go to www.specialolympics.org/youngathletes to learn all about the Young Athletes Program goals and activities.
We are thrilled to be able to work with the many parents and professionals in Montgomery County who have been eagerly seeking an opportunity for sport and fun in their children’s lives. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or suggestions, and ...... please spread the word!
I look forward to meeting all of you, and to knowing your children! – Pam Yerg