Special Olympics Golf

SPECIAL OLYMPICS GOLF REGISTRATION

Registration is now open to athletes ages 8 and up and Unified Partners to sign up for 9 Hole Unified, Individual Skills, or 3 or 6 Hole golf events. There will be an informational Zoom meeting on Saturday, April 9th at 3pm. The link for the meeting is on the email. Even if you are only interested in more information, I encourage you to attend. Michelle will return as the head coach. Athletes returning from the 2021 season will be given preference to a spot on the roster as long as you respond by April 14th. All other athletes interested will go on a waiting list, and starting April 15th I will begin pulling from the waiting list as long as there are spots available. *Note: new athletes to Special Connections Golf must compete in Individual Skills their first year. The roster will be limited to 10 Individual Skills athletes and 10 course athletes with Unified Partners/Caddies. Athletes who want to compete in 3 or 6 Hole or Unified 9 Hole must be approved by Michelle & Tina if they have not competed in one of those events before, and as long as the athlete has competed in Individual Skills with Special Connections at least 1 year. Also, course athletes must have a Partner/Caddie by the second practice, 5/19/22. Tina will notify if there are any Partners/Caddies available, but athletes should plan to find one on their own.

For practices athletes, Partners, caddies, and coaches MUST wear a collared shirt, pants or shorts, and gym shoes or golf shoes. NO JEANS OR JEWELRY ARE ALLOWED. Athletes are responsible for their transportation to practices. The SC buses may be used for transportation to competitions. The cost for the entire season is $15.

All athletes, Partners, and caddies will start practicing on May 12th at The Creek (formerly Nettle Creek) at 5355 Saratoga Rd in Morris. Individual Skills practice shift will be 5:20-6:30, and 9 Hole Unified and 3 & 6 Hole golfers shift will be 6:20-7:30. The first 10 minutes of practice will be dedicated to attendance, stretches, and warm ups.

Michelle will try to get a few course athletes with their Partners/Caddies on the course during practice in a rotation. However, there is never a guarantee that the course will be available for that so it is still up to those athletes/Partners/Caddies to schedule course time on their own time outside of Thursday practice.

Regional competitions are as follows:

Individual Skills on Monday, July 11 in Oglesby

3 & 6 Hole on Monday, July 18 in Bartlett

9 Hole Unified on Tuesday, July 26 in Joliet

State Competition for those who qualify will be September 10-11 in Decatur.

Special Olympics Medicals must be valid through September 12th. Medicals for Skills athletes are due to Tina by May 19th. Medicals for 3 & 6 Hole and 9 Hole Unified athletes are due by June 9th. If you are not sure if you need a new Medical, please let me know and I can look that up for you. If you do need a new Medical, and I do not have it by those dates per event you choose, then you will not be able to compete.

We are also in need of Assistant Coaches ages 14 and up. Complete knowledge of golf is not required. Please respond if you are interested in volunteering at practice and possibly at competitions, and I will get you set up to help. A Special Olympics Class A Registration is required along with some paperwork. If you have a Class A, but do not know when it expires I can look that up for you. A Class A is valid for 4 years once completed with a background check for those 18 and older. If you are interested in being a Unified Partner or Caddie, the Class A and some paperwork are required for those as well.

Register by responding to the email, calling 815-545-3397, or signing up online at specialconnections.org. Registering on Facebook is not allowed. Registration closes April 14th. Once you register, I will let you know what paperwork I need from you.