Sports Participation Policy
Participation in Special Olympics is both an honor and a privilege. The primary purpose of this “Participation Policy” is to establish standards for athletes and coach’s behavior that will ensure the safety and well-being of all athletes, partners, coaches, and volunteers involved in training and competition.
Athletes wishing to participate must now have the new Athlete Medical form (if new athlete or renewing) and the Athlete Consent Form. If an athlete has a current med app, that app will still be valid until its expiration date. However, the athlete must submit the Athlete Consent form to remain eligible for competition. THESE ARE THE ONLY FORMS WHICH WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR PARTICIPATION. The correct forms are dated 8.2021 at the bottom of the
page. The link to the Consent Form is www.soill.org/athlete-forms. The link to the Medical Form is www.soill.org/athlete-forms.
Participation in Special Olympics is an important component of the athlete’s growth and provides valuable physical, social, and mental health benefits for athletes. The proposed policy affirms the benefit from the chance to join Without Limits-Team Galaxy sports team to learn about teamwork, leadership, and physical fitness. The proposed rules would establish the policies for athletes participating in sports or teams.
Without Limits-Team Galaxy Policy:
Additional policy guidelines
Complaints: If an athlete or parent has a complaint about a Without Limits or Special Olympics activity/event, it is now required to go to the Without Limits-Team Galaxy SOAD. Please put it in writing and then send it initially to the Without Limits coach of the sport. The coach will forward it to the SOAD. If a parent or athlete does not feel comfortable sending it to the coach, they can forward it directly to the SOAD. The SOAD will send it to the Regional Office. It looks extremely bad on the organization when the State or Regional office calls the SOAD and the SOAD was not aware of the complaint.
The Without Limits SOAD has a fundamental obligation and responsibility to protect the health, safety and physical and mental well-being of every athlete that is involved in Without Limits-Team Galaxy activities. The SOAD takes situations involving misconduct or maltreatment very seriously. For this reason, the SOAD is committed to enacting and enforcing strong, clear, and effective policies and processes for preventing and addressing all forms of misconduct or maltreatment. The SOAD’s policies are intended to promote a Safe Sport environment in a manner that allows for consistent, immediate, appropriate, and meaningful action should any issues arise. They are also intended to prevent issues from arising in the first place by communicating expected standards of behavior.
Not every complaint requires an investigation. Many issues raised by complainants will be able to be resolved at an informal level or through other processes such as mediation. Many complaints involve communication issues or misunderstandings that can be resolved by discussion between the parties. Both parties should be encouraged to resolve the issue and to seek and accept realistic outcomes to prevent the escalation of conflict where possible.
Athletes wishing to participate must now have the new Athlete Medical form (if new athlete or renewing) and the Athlete Consent Form. If an athlete has a current med app, that app will still be valid until its expiration date. However, the athlete must submit the Athlete Consent form to remain eligible for competition. THESE ARE THE ONLY FORMS WHICH WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR PARTICIPATION. The correct forms are dated 8.2021 at the bottom of the
page. The link to the Consent Form is www.soill.org/athlete-forms. The link to the Medical Form is www.soill.org/athlete-forms.
Participation in Special Olympics is an important component of the athlete’s growth and provides valuable physical, social, and mental health benefits for athletes. The proposed policy affirms the benefit from the chance to join Without Limits-Team Galaxy sports team to learn about teamwork, leadership, and physical fitness. The proposed rules would establish the policies for athletes participating in sports or teams.
Without Limits-Team Galaxy Policy:
- All athletes must have a current Athlete Medical Form on file with Without Limits-Team Galaxy and the State of Illinois. It is the state’s policy that all athletes have a valid Application for Participation (Med App) on file prior to taking part in any practices.
- Ensure the attendance of all practices and all Region or State events: It is Without Limits participation policy that every athlete attends at least 80% of practice. An athlete can be dropped from the roster if an athlete continues to miss training or practices. This is to assure Without Limits-Team Galaxy adheres to the Athlete Development Model (ADM).
- Athletes must attend all assessment sessions to assist the coaches in completing state required paperwork. Without Limits-Team Galaxy holds an eleven-week sport schedule (three weeks for assessments, then eight practices) per sport. If an athlete does not attend the assessments sessions, the athlete will not be allowed to participate in the activity. This is to ensure no athlete enters a competition until they have acquired the skills and demonstrated the level of physical conditioning necessary to compete in a safe and meaningful way.
- The athlete will also attend all regional and state events if assigned to a sport.
- Without Limits-Team Galaxy coaches are required to hold at least eight (one-hour) practices prior to regional competitions. (This is a state requirement.) 8 Weeks Minimum.
- Training: A sports season lasts approximately 4 months, during which athletes must train for a minimum of 8 weeks under the direction of a certified coach to be eligible to compete in any Special Olympics events (state requirements).
- It is the responsibility of coaches to review their Sports Training Guide prior to every season. Coaches will also become certified coaches under the Illinois Special Olympics guidelines within two years of being assigned as a coach for a specific sport. Coaches must have a Class A on file prior to the season in which they plan to coach. This is outlined in the Special Olympics Coach Development Model.
- Athlete or parent will notify the coach of any absence of practices or games prior to the practice or game.
- Athletes can take part in several sports in one season, but team sports will be the priority for competitions at regional and state events.
Additional policy guidelines
Complaints: If an athlete or parent has a complaint about a Without Limits or Special Olympics activity/event, it is now required to go to the Without Limits-Team Galaxy SOAD. Please put it in writing and then send it initially to the Without Limits coach of the sport. The coach will forward it to the SOAD. If a parent or athlete does not feel comfortable sending it to the coach, they can forward it directly to the SOAD. The SOAD will send it to the Regional Office. It looks extremely bad on the organization when the State or Regional office calls the SOAD and the SOAD was not aware of the complaint.
The Without Limits SOAD has a fundamental obligation and responsibility to protect the health, safety and physical and mental well-being of every athlete that is involved in Without Limits-Team Galaxy activities. The SOAD takes situations involving misconduct or maltreatment very seriously. For this reason, the SOAD is committed to enacting and enforcing strong, clear, and effective policies and processes for preventing and addressing all forms of misconduct or maltreatment. The SOAD’s policies are intended to promote a Safe Sport environment in a manner that allows for consistent, immediate, appropriate, and meaningful action should any issues arise. They are also intended to prevent issues from arising in the first place by communicating expected standards of behavior.
Not every complaint requires an investigation. Many issues raised by complainants will be able to be resolved at an informal level or through other processes such as mediation. Many complaints involve communication issues or misunderstandings that can be resolved by discussion between the parties. Both parties should be encouraged to resolve the issue and to seek and accept realistic outcomes to prevent the escalation of conflict where possible.
