Late Fall/ Winter Bowling Information

As most of you are aware, the Shady Grove AMF Bowling lanes have been closed to do a complete remodeling of the facility and the services that will be  provided. Due to the new plans for the NEW AMF Lanes, all leagues that were previously supported have been cancelled. SOMO has a great friend in the Shady Grove AMF Company, and the corporation has agreed to work with us to continue to provide bowling lanes for our SOMO programs upon re-opening! We will need to modify our bowling programs a bit, but are thrilled that we will still have a home!

The usual Fall Recreational Bowling program will not be offered this year.

The details have not been finalized yet, but we are expecting to have an extended Winter Competitive Season that will begin in late October and  conclude with the State Tournament scheduled for February. The famous SOMO Bowl-a-thon will be held in November. The new time slot for our program is likely to be Saturdays from 9:00-11:00 AM with arrival at 8:40AM to get ready.  As soon as we have the details and can set up the dates, we will post that information on our website, and will contact those athletes who sign up for the program.

 If you are interested in being considered for a slot on the extended winter competitive bowling team you MUST mail in the sign up form in this issue. You may also download a printable version of the sign up form and mail it in. As always, we will be limited in the number of slots that we can provide and roster slots will be given FIRST to those athletes who are participating ONLY in the bowling program. We will ONLY accept mail-in sign ups for this season. As you make your plans for SOMO Winter sports participation, please remember that the bowling program will run from late October  through early February and is considered a WINTER COMPETITIVE PROGRAM. A full commitment to training in this program is expected. If you have questions, contact Bowling Team Manager Debbie Fickenscher at debbie.fickenscher@verizon.net—and when you see Debbie, give her a hug for all that she does for this program!  Our wonderful athletes, and Debbie’s smiling attitude won the AMF hearts!

YAP -     Young Athletes Program

Young Athletes Program  introduces children with intellectual disabilities ages 3-7, 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.

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. Visit www.specialolympics.org/youngathletes for further resources, materials and information.

SOMO offered its first YAP Pilot Program in the Spring and this Fall we plan to offer  a follow-up program to be held at the Potomac Community Center on Sundays from 10-11:30 beginning Sunday September 21. We are currently working on providing a partnership with Montgomery County Recreation that will enable us to offer a second YAP program day and location as well. All details will be posted on the website www.somdmontgomery.org as they become available. Any interested parent MUST complete the online sign-up on our website, and all families will be contacted with details. Spaces are very limited, so sign up ASAP. First priority will be given to returning YAP athletes and families. Contact Pam Yerg at jeyclan@verizon.net  with questions and visit our website for more details.