2020 Chittenden Fall Fitness Program

 

We have finalized our Fall Fitness Walk locations and schedule. Please contact me to sign up for one and only one session. We are limiting each session to 16 athletes so get your name on a list quickly! Here is what we are offering:

• Monday walk 2:00 PM, starting 9/7/20 through 10/26/20 at the Willey Family Farm, St James Place, Essex Junction, led by Giles Willey

• Tuesday walk 5:30 PM, starting 9/8/20 through 10/27/20 at Leddy Park Bike Path, Burlington, led by Dave and Karen Bogdan

• Tuesday run 6:00 PM, starting 9/8/20 through 10/27/20 at Williston Community Park, 250 Library Lane, Williston, led by Joe McNamara

• Thursday walk 5:30 PM, starting 9/9/20 through 10/29/20 at Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, led by Ellen Vaut

Everyone is required to wear a mask to practice and we will have a formal check-in asking Covid-19 questions and taking temperatures at every practice. Drivers must stay onsite until athletes are checked in. We will be sending people home if they have a temperature or are sick. 

 

Walker's will be required to wear a mask while walking but runners will be able to remove their mask while running.

All participants should be aware that there are no restroom facilities at any of the locations, they are all locked. Also, all participants should bring their own water bottle and not share.

 

All participants should be aware of Who is at Higher Risk from COVID-19 before joining our program.

All athletes and caregivers must read and review the Green Mountain Self-Advocates Guide to Coronavirus. This should be read and reviewed in advance of attendance at first practice.

Athletes, volunteers and anyone joining our walk/run will be required to complete a Covid-19 waiver.

We will not have time to send out postcards so if you know anyone who does not check on-line or email, please let them know about our Fall Fitness Program.

2020 Fall Sports Update and Return to Play

 

Hi all, I hope everyone is well!  I know everyone is anxious to get back together and play sports. Special Olympics Vermont has been working on Return to Play Guidelines and sharing them with local program coordinators and coaches. The guidelines provide a way for us to get back together while staying safe. To be safe, our sports season will not be like our typical Fall Sports season. We will be offering small group Fitness Walks and a Distance Run at various locations around Chittenden County. I know this will disappoint our soccer athletes, softball athletes and partners, track athletes and golf athletes but I encourage everyone to sign up for a Walk or Run. It is a way to safely stay fit and see some of your friends.

Our proposed locations are:

• Fairground walk starting at the Willey Family Farm
  
• Williston Bike Path Run starting at the Williston Central School
• Burlington Bike Path Walk starting at Leddy Park
• Mills River Walk starting at the Mills River Park
• Shelburne Farms Walk starting at Shelburne Farms parking lot
  

The first thing we need is to recruit volunteers for each of these locations. We will allow 16 athletes each and will need 6 volunteers total, 4 volunteers to do the walk or run with the athletes and 2 volunteers at each location to run a formal check-in which includes completing a current health questionnaire and taking temperatures of athletes and volunteers at each walk. 

We have not formalized the time or start date yet but hope to start very soon. Please contact me if you are interested in volunteering (dbogdan@ieee.org or 802-865-3840). I will be sending out a call for athlete registration once we have volunteers and time slots confirmed. 

There will be a relatively short COVID-19 training required for volunteers, COVID-19 releases for volunteers and athletes and rules we will have to follow for safety.

Thanks, Dave

2020 SummerFest Fitness Challenge

2020 Pajama Jam Dance

2020 At Home Fitness Challenge!

Special Olympics Vermont has announced an At Home Fitness Challenge for athletes. Sign up, complete and record your weekly fitness challenge for 8 weeks and you can win a medal while staying healthy!

Contact me by phone (802-865-3840) or email (dbogdan@ieee.org) to sign up. I will need to know your fitness level; easy, intermediate or advanced, and how you want to receive your weekly challenge, by email, postal mail or other online options.  

Stay well, Dave 

Covid-19 update: Summer Sports practice canceled through the end of May

I know how disappointing this is, but Special Olympics Vermont has decided to cancel all training and competition through the end of May. This was a very strong recommendation from Special Olympics International. Many Vermont Program Coordinators were on the call when the decision was made, including me, and the decision was unanimous. We want our athletes, coaches, families and caregivers to be safe and that means encouraging "social distancing" and canceling all group activities. 

This means that there will be no basketball practice and no bocce practice. Special Olympics Vermont has not canceled the weekend of Summer Games, yet, but if an event is held, it will be different that "Summer Games". 

Special Olympics International and Special Olympics Vermont are both working on ways to keep everyone engaged and active while at home. I will keep you posted on that. Stay home and stay safe!  Dave



 

Safety First: Special Olympics Vermont 2020 Winter Games have been canceled

Below is a message from Special Olympics Vermont President and CEO, Missy Siner Shea. In an abundance of caution, Special Olympics Vermont is cancelling the 2020 Winter Games. We have also been instructed to cancel all practices through the end of March so, Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding, Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing practice are now cancelled. We will take stock of the situation as as the month progresses and make appropriate decisions about starting Summer Sports Basketball and Bocce practice.

I know this is very disappointing but we want to keep everyone safe and healthy. Missy's message follows. Thanks, Dave

Dear Special Olympics Vermont Program Leadership (Heads of Delegation, Coaches and Program Support),

Thanks to many of you who were able to join us on calls to discuss the safety of our athletes at our upcoming events. Your input and collaboration is greatly appreciated. 

We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation, with guidance from Special Olympics International and Special Olympics North America, based on information from the Centers for Disease Control, as well as the Vermont Department of Health and various health professionals. The situation changes each day. 

Monday evening Special Olympics program leaders worldwide received a communication from Mary Davis, CEO, Special Olympics International, strongly advising all Special Olympics Programs to suspend all sport training and competition activities and other activation involving our athletes through March 31, 2020. 

The health and safety of our athletes, and of the entire Special Olympics Vermont community is paramount and cannot be compromised. It is very unfortunate that, in an abundance of caution, we must cancel the following upcoming SOVT events:

• Winter Games at Killington Pico Resort; Sunday, March 22 - Tuesday, March 24 
• Unified Champion Schools Snowshoe Tournament; Wednesday March 25

We ask for your consideration and understanding that: 

• Many of our athletes, as well as some coaches and volunteers, are a higher risk population 
• Given the close quarters of the interior spaces and lodging, it would be extremely difficult to maintain social distancing and best practices for personal hygiene as recommended by the CDC
• Participants are coming from around the state, including athletes from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey - states which also have confirmed cases of COVID-19 

The Southern Vermont Penguin Plunge at Bromley Mountain is scheduled for Saturday, March 21. We are collaborating with our partners to explore alternative approaches, including the possibility of hosting a virtual event. 

We recognize that cancelling these important and fun events is truly disappointing for the athletes who have trained for months to prepare for these competitions. Coaches, volunteers, family, friends, and our SOVT staff and board will be sad to miss the chance to support and cheer for them. Still, our shared love of sport doesn’t compare to the importance of protecting the health and safety of the Special Olympics Vermont community. We also want you to know that Special Olympics Vermont will not pass on any costs we incur; we will not charge Games or any other fees to local programs. 

The recommendation from Special Olympics International, which we are following, calls for suspending all sports training and competition activities hosted by the Special Olympics state program office, through the end of March. We understand this could affect additional events, including training for Summer Games, which begins soon. With things changing daily, it is hard to determine the future impact. We will continue to monitor how this situation progresses, and provide periodic updates.

As this information is extremely important and time sensitive, we ask that you please pass this message along to athletes, program volunteers, families, caregivers, and all other affected parties. We are in the process of informing additional stakeholders and will be sending out a communication to the broader public on Wednesday, March 11th.

We thank you in advance for your understanding and continued support.

Missy Siner Shea
President & CEO