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www.badmintonscotland.org.uk May 2011 NEWS
BROTHERS IN ARMS: James Pert and Grant Hunter with David Gillespie
It’s all going to beabitSpecial
of people with learning disabilities and celebrate the SpecialOlympics movement. The 13th SpecialOlympicsWorld Summer
T
Games will take place in Athens from June 25 - July 4. Some 7,500 SpecialOlympics athletes from 185 nations with a wide range of ability levels will compete in 22 Olympic-type sports. There will also be 25,000 volunteers to ensure the Games run smoothly. SpecialOlympics Great Britain has selected a
team of 215 delegates, comprising 157 athletes, 57 volunteer coaches, four unified partners and nine management and support staff to represent Great Britain in Athens. Head of Delegation GordonMcCormack
says: “The excitement is growing for both the athletes and their families. It’s almost time for the greatest event of 2011 for both the world and our Great Britain team, and we are privileged to have such a dedicated team of volunteer coaches working tirelessly to have the team be the best they can be. “Representing your country is the highest
honour any athlete can aspire to - are we ready? You bet we are.” The badminton competition will be held at
the HellinikonOlympic Complex from June 26 - July 3. In the three disciplines of singles, level doubles, and mixed doubles 84 men and 76 women will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals but there is a podium place for everyone in SpecialOlympics with place ribbons awarded and a chance to wave to family and friends.
HE SpecialOlympicWorld Summer Games offer the biggest stage to show- case the abilities and accomplishments
By DAVID GILLESPIE SpecialOlympics Great Britain will be repre-
sented by Hazel Johnson, Briony Johnson, Darren Roberts (England), James Pert and Grant Hunter (Scotland) with support from coach Rachel Burke (England) and head coach David Gillespie (Scotland). David has worked with James and Grant for
‘ ’
several years and they are a well respected doubles partnership and singles competitors in the 4 Nations Disabled Badminton Championships circuit.
Thememories and friendships
fromthismassive event are life
changing and will
be a talking point of their lives for a long time to come.
The other athletes and coach met through
the 4 Nations events too and three other training weekends were added in this last year in Runcorn and Bolton. More would have been ideal but costs and
time are always the main problem in achieving that. This will be the first international
experience for all, apart from David, who has supported GB teams inWarsaw in 2006, Shanghai in 2007 andWarsaw in 2010. David said: “The memories and friendships
from this massive event are life changing and will be a talking point of their lives for a long time to come.” The Host Town Program is a special part of
SpecialOlympics events. Teams from around the world will be hosted for four days prior to the Games throughout the 13 regions of Greece. Through a series of cultural, artistic and sporting events all will have the opportunity to adapt to and enjoy this new environment. At the same time, Greek citizens will learn
more about people with learning disabilities, their skills and abilities, from all over the world. Skiathos will be the Great Britain team base
for its Host Town experience. Possibly best known for its scenes from the movieMamma Mia, Skiathos is a beautiful and enchanting island of the Sporades Islands of Greece. Piney mountains, golden shores and extra-
ordinary cliff formations “probably makes us the most envied team at the Games and my concerns are: • will we want to leave Skiathos and join the other teams in Athens when the time comes? • and will we be able to get those Abba songs out of our heads? Please wish the whole of SpecialOlympics
Great BritainWorld Summer Games Team the very best of luck for the Games and we will report back on their adventure. *David Gillespie is GB head coach for badminton at the Special Olympics
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