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Follow some of our Special Olympics Ireland athletes, coaches and volunteers and see how Special Olympics has changed their lives

MIDWAY Services - Navan, Kells & Trim

Feb7

Written by:
07/02/2012 19:09

Name of Club: MIDWAY Services

Location: Navan, Kells & Trim, Co. Meath

Club Colours: Yellow & Green

Number of Athletes: 119

Number of Volunteers: 26

Number of Coaches: 15

Sports: Athletics, Aquatics, Basketball, Badminton, Bocce, Bowling, Equestrian, Golf, Football, Pitch and Putt, Motor Activity Training Programme (MATP)

Facilities: Claremont Stadium, MDL, Aura Navan and Trim, Kells Swimming Pool, Navan Golf Club, Headfort Golf Club, County Meath Golf Club, Navan Pitch and Putt Course, Bachelors Lodge Equestrian Centre and Carlanstown Equestrian Centre

A litte bit about us....

MIDWAY was established in 1982 by parents and friends of people with intellectual disabilities who were in inappropriate day services in Co. Meath. The services have developed greatly over the years from 1 centre in 1982, to having 8 centres currently in the towns of Navan, Kells and Trim. Our athletes range from 18 years of age to our eldest athlete who is 74 years old.

Midway have long been involved with the Special Olympics, where initially they took part in 3 sports, however in 2007 they employed a Sports Facilitator whose sole role was to improve sport and leisure opportunities for all their athletes. Since 2007, MIDWAY have increasingly become involved with Special Olympics, competing in 10 of the sports with massive numbers attending each event.

On a weekly basis MIDWAY offer their athletes a great choice of fun activities such as archery, skiing lessons, dance classes and martial arts while also teaching Special Olympic sports such as athletics, bowling, aquatics , golf, equestrian and MATP.

We regularly hold competitions in MIDWAY that simulate actual Special Olympics events so that our athletes have the best possible chance of performing to the best of their ability on the big day. Each year we hold a “Summer Sports Competition Week” where the 8 centres come together and compete against each other in a different sport each day.

The emphasis of the sports programme in MIDWAY is for each of our athletes to take part in fun social activities of their choice with the option of going further and competing in the Special Olympics should they wish to do so.

Going forward we will continue to offer our athletes these opportunities to be involved in the sport of their choice and hope to increase our ever growing numbers in each of these sports.

Events and Games our club has participated in...

MIDWAY Services athletes have competed in:

2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, Athens (1 athlete)
2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games, Limerick (26 athletes)
2008/ 2009 Special Olympics Regional Games, Approx 60 athletes competed
2007/ 2008 Special Olympics Local Games, Approx 90 athletes competed

Our Recent Achievements...

A massive achievement was the large convoy of MIDWAY athletes that were selected to represent Leinster in the 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games in Limerick. 26 athletes competing in aquatics, athletics, golf, equestrian, football and MATP did themselves and their families proud by returning with 44 medals.

In 2011 golfer Laura Kelly represented Ireland at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens where she performed superbly and returned home with a silver medal. It was a magical year for Laura who along the way took part in a training session with Irish golfer Padraig Harrington. On her return she made an appearance along with her fellow Irish World Games athletes on the Miriam O’Callaghan show and also went to Aras an Uachtarain to meet Ireland’s President Mary McAleese.

People can support us by...

We are always looking for volunteers and coaches who can bring a new element of expertise and fun to our already thriving programme. Our volunteers get as much from being with our athletes as our athletes get from being with the volunteers which is essential to a fun and successful programme.
Each year we take on various fundraisers such as mini marathons and race nights and so help is always welcome. Whether you have sporting experience or just a keen interest in the area of disability we would love to hear from you and you will be more than welcome with us!