New for Fall 2020 – Fitness Combine and On The Move

Note: Athlete Medicals are required to participate in either of these programs. However, athletes whose medicals have expired since March 2020 have until the end of the calendar year to provided an updated medical form.

Registration deadline for both of these activities is August 28.

Fall Fitness Combine

The 2020 Fall Fitness Combine was designed with flexibility in mind. The goal of the program is to provide Special Olympics Virginia athletes and partners with an eight-week training program that will increase strength, flexibility, and overall physical performance. They will compete in nine events with the aim of improving their score from week one to week eight. Participants will strive to demonstrate increased physical performance week over week with improved measurables for a variety of competitions.

Our hope is that athletes will be able to socialize, practice and encourage other athletes, their teammates and our communities (all virtually) to strive for individual health and fitness improvements.

Join a team, or compete as an individual. For more information and to register, go to https://www.specialolympicsva.org/2020-fitness-combine

On The Move

On The Move is a walking/running program being offered by Loudoun County Special Olympics The goal is to get our athletes moving and connected again. The actual physical activity is performed independently in the athlete’s neighborhood. But support and socialization will be facilitated by being part of a team headed by a Special Olympics coach.

Here is how it works:

Step 1: The athlete registers for On The Move via loudoun.gov/webtrac just as they would any other Special Olympic sport. The last day to register is August 28th. The cutoff date is necessary so that teams can be assembled and coaches can be assigned accordingly.

Step 2: The athlete/family will be contacted via email to get additional information about team preference. Based on the number of coaches and athletes, teams will be formed with efforts to honor preferences and intact teams from other sports (i.e. basketball). Some teams may have 5 athletes and some may have significantly more.

Step 3: The coach will contact the athlete/family to further assess the wishes and desires of the athlete. Some athletes may want to set weekly mileage goals. Some athletes may not. Some athletes may want to run sprints weekly. Some athletes may want to walk, take pictures and share them. Whether the interest is social or competitive, there will be an opportunity to participate. It is the coach’s responsibility to honor all of those abilities and needs.

Step 4: Athletes will share their phone numbers/social media accounts with their teammates and coaches. Texting/Instagram/Twitter (this hasn/t been decided yet) is the means by which the athletes will connect around this shared activity. Then a kickoff Zoom call will begin the process by introducing teammates, setting goals if desired and perhaps doing some group stretches. These kickoff calls are set to occur the week of September 7th.

Step 5: Lace up the shoes and get ON THE MOVE – walk or run or propel yourself down the path. The athlete can keep track of their distances via the Health App on the Iphone as well as other apps. If the athlete doesn’t know how to use an app or doesn’t have one, the coaches can help. At the conclusion of the walk/run, the results recorded on the Health App should be shared with the team via texting/Instagram/Twitter. Then the magic happens. The teammates send out congratulatory emoji’s or words of encouragement. The athlete can share selfies or pictures of interesting things that they see along the way.

Step 6: A weekly ZOOM call is facilitated by the coach. This ZOOM call can be tailored to the wishes of the team. The purpose is to connect as a team, socialize, encourage each other’s efforts, share unique experiences and make plans for the following week.

We are keeping this program purposefully simple. We don’t want technology to hold anyone back from participating. We want the athletes to be as self sufficient as possible with the assistance of their coach.