Highland Council to support Team Highland at Special Olympics

17th March 2009

Members of The Highland Council’s Education, Culture and Sport Committee have approved a grant of £10,000 to Highland Disability Sport. The funding will support an 80-strong team of athletes to participate at the Special Olympics National Summer Games in Leicester 25th - 31st July 2009.

Chairman of The Highland Council’s Education, Culture and Sport Committee Councillor Bill Fernie said: “This is an excellent opportunity to support our top athletes in the Highlands. I am delighted that we can provide funding towards their participation at the Special Olympics in Leicester. I wish them great success and hope to see some medals coming back home.”

Team Highland will be competing in 8 sports; swimming, football, athletics, bowls, golf, boccia, badminton and ten pin. Each sport has a head coach and support team and athletes come from throughout the Highland Council area.

Each participant is in regular training leading up to the games and Highland Disability Sport provides training sessions throughout the Highlands to support them.

Highland Disability Sport is supporting Team Highland which comprises 80 athletes, 35 coaches and support staff who will travel by air to Birmingham, coach to Leicester, and stay on campus at The University of Leicester.

Charlie Forbes, Highland Council Disability Sport Development Officer said: “Highland Council’s funding support is greatly appreciated by Team Highland. Participants have made contributions towards their own costs and raised £40,000 sponsorship from the Tulloch Group. They are now only £23,000 short of the required £96,000.”

The Special Olympics are for people with learning disabilities. Its mission is: “to give athletes with learning disabilities continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympic athletes and the community”.

Special Olympics Great Britain was established in 1978 and as the leading provider of sporting opportunities for people with a learning disability in the United Kingdom it focuses on providing equality of opportunity for all athletes regardless of their level or degree of disability. It is a volunteer-based organisation, with 105 local clubs, branches and regions throughout Great Britain, where 500 volunteer sports coaches provide training for people with a learning disability.