Healthy Athletes Volunteer Form – Provincial Games 2024
The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program is a worldwide initiative that provides screening and education to Special Olympics athletes and people with intellectual disabilities. Screenings are organized in a fun and friendly environment to aid in promoting a healthy lifestyle to people with an intellectual disability.
There are a multitude of barriers limiting access to healthcare for people with intellectual disabilities including lack of awareness, socio-economic obstacles, limited self-advocacy, communication issues, and the comfort level and training of health providers. This lack of access has resulted in treatable diseases and ailments going diagnosed and unaddressed. Healthy Athletes seeks to eliminate these barriers on behalf of athletes and clinicians alike. We are currently recruiting volunteers for Healthy Athletes screenings as part of Provincial Games in Waterloo at Laurier University. Screenings will take place May 24th from 12-8pm and May 25th from 10-4pm. Please see below for additional information regarding the screenings we will be offering: Fit Feet offers podiatric screenings to evaluate ankles, feet, lower extremity biomechanics, and proper shoe and sock gear to participating athletes. This screening seeks to better equip participants for sport and for life. Strong Minds is an interactive learning activity focused on developing adaptive coping skills. Athletes learn about and try a few different active coping strategies as they move through the stations. Before exiting, athletes identify the strategies they like best and volunteers provide them with visual reminders to use these tools in competition and in daily life. Special Smiles provides comprehensive oral health care information, including free dental screenings and instruction on correct brushing and flossing techniques to participating Special Olympics athletes and people with an Intellectual Disability. General Volunteers are not required to have any previous experience. Volunteers in this role will check athletes in to each discipline, record information and perform other administrative tasks.Volunteer positions will be filled on a first come basis.