St. Lucia

Special Olympics Caribbean (SOC) ~ Special Olympics St. Lucia

And

Special Olympics Georgia (SOGA)

Exchange Program

Sports Training

August 30 – 31, 2011

Castries, St. Lucia

A great partnership with Special Olympics Georgia and Special Olympics Saint Lucia was started back on the 30^th of August with a 2 day Coaches/Athlete Clinic held in Castries, St. Lucia.  4 members of the Special Olympics Georgia Staff made the trip down to Saint Lucia and the results of this clinic were outstanding.  Athletics, Young Athletes, Football (Soccer), Bocce, and Unified Sports were all covered over the 2 day period.  Special Olympics Saint Lucia had over 35 Coaches and Athletes at each of the 5 sessions and all that attended were very energetic and eager to learn about each component. The classroom sessions occurred at the beginning of each of the sports clinics scheduled time and consisted of the discussion of the Special Olympics rules and practices.  Once the classroom session was completed, the group then went out to the competition field (local cricket stadium) to set up and play the different skills and competitions within each sport.  From a personal stand point the staff from Special Olympics Georgia experienced hospitality at its finest with great food and even better friendships being made.

Special Olympics Georgia is very excited about the next step in this partnership which will take place in Dalton, GA October 21^st – 23^rd at the Special Olympics Georgia State Fall Games.  Special Olympics St. Lucia will be bringing a delegation of 12 people including 2 Traditional Bocce teams to compete. Saint Lucia will also be the Grand Marshall for the opening ceremony at this event.  Special Olympics Georgia has high hopes to show the Coaches and Athletes of Special Olympics Saint Lucia the same great level of hospitality they were shown and to continue growing this partnership in an inspiring direction.