Local Program Structure and Overview
A Local Program are the structure that supports athletes in all Special Olympics activities. A Local Program may offer one sport, or it may offer many, and can have as few as two athletes or as many as want to join.
A Local Program provides direct services to our athletes, their families, and our volunteers. Ideally, a Local Program should support each athlete during their entire Special Olympics experience. Expectations of a Local Program include:
- Provide high-quality experiences for your athletes, families and volunteers.
- Offers programming for athletes at all stages of life (2-102)
- Communicate with those who are part of your local program including athletes, volunteers and families.
- Establishing a training schedule.
- Recruiting appropriate coaches.
- Fundraising to support your program – including cost for participation, high-quality uniforms, equipment, practice facilities.
- Securing practice facilities.
- Registering athletes and Local Program Volunteers for each event.
- Support athletes as they transition from Young Athletes to school-age participants to outside school participation… support them throughout their lifetime!
- Support athletes when they choose to join another Local Program, because they would like to, or to compete in a specific sport for a season.
If you’d like more information on starting a Local Program, please reach out to Ian at IanW@sonh.org.
If you are existing Local Program, this overview is a great tool to reference as you support your Local Program.
The Program Manual
The SONH Program Manual is designed for all local programs and schools, established and brand new; it includes information on Special Olympics New Hampshire, our offerings and resources for those who are involved in our programs. Though it will be helpful to familiarize yourself with the Program Manual as a whole, the following sections are good starting points for someone getting a local program started:
Agon
Agon is the Greek god of competition, but is also the name of SONH’s online tool for local programs! Agon is the main tool of communication between SONH and local programs. Each local program has their own Agon page, where you will receive log-in information. Agon has many tools to assist local programs:
- Event registration
- Athlete, Unified Partner, family, and local program volunteer contact information
- Finance information
- Email sending tools
- Local program websites through the SONH website
- Tools to help track compliance and paperwork
A link to Agon can be found at the bottom of the SONH website, or can be accessed here. For more information, and tips and tricks on how to use and navigate Agon, please visit our Agon User Guide.
Local Program Structure
A local program is led by a leadership team, ideally comprised of several roles which are described below:
- Local Program Coordinator – Manages all aspects of the local program with the help from a local program leadership team.
- Communications & Technology Manager – Serves as the voice of the local program through communications and manages Agon for the local program.
- Compliance Manager – Works with athletes and local program volunteers to be up-to-date to compete and volunteer.
- Sports and Training Manager – Manages the sports piece of the local program.
- Finance Manager – Organizes raising funds for the local program.
For more details and descriptions, please see our Local Program Leadership Roles resource.
Once a local program has a leadership team, it can begin recruiting athletes, local program volunteers, Unified Partners, and coaches. Basic roles and requirements are below:
- Athletes – Require an athlete application for participation
- Local program volunteers – Require a local program volunteer application, which includes an Online Protective Behaviors Course, and a background check for individuals over age 18.
- Unified Partners – Unified Partners require the same items as a local program volunteer.
- Coaches – Coaches require the same items as a local program volunteer, in addition to an online concussion course, and sports training. SONH will work with you to ensure coaches are trained.
All application and paperwork requirements can be found on the Program Manual. For more details, please see: How to Be An Athlete , or How to Be a Volunteer /Unified Partner for specific requirements and information.
Sports, Training, and Competition
Special Olympics New Hampshire offers 18 sports throughout six seasons annually. For a list of our sports, which include coaching resources, Games Information Sheets, and Rules, please visit our Sports Page on the Program Manual.
SONH expects and encourages programs to compete for at least 10 weeks prior to state competition. Prior to each season, SONH hosts a preseason virtual call, to go over rules and provide a big picture of the season, as well as resources and important dates.
Throughout the season, SONH also hosts a coaches call to provide state competition information, such as schedules, food options, housing options, etc. State competition requires a few points of registration through Agon:
- Intent – Tell us if you plan on participating, and an approximate number of participants.
- Compliance – All participants must be up to date on paperwork to compete
- Registration – Submit qualifying scores and teams, so we may division appropriately for state competition
- Scratch – Update rosters and scratch participants not attending state competition
Local programs from across the state converge many times throughout the year for state competition. It is a celebration of the culmination of hard work for all the athletes, coaches, families, and volunteers throughout the season, and a chance to showcase great sportsmanship, effort, and friendship within the community.
All state competitions present awards to athletes. State competition is not mandatory, but highly encouraged! When local programs attend state competition, local programs are assessed based on the number of participants who attend. Assessments help share the costs of the competition between SONH and the local programs who participate.
As an incentive to encourage new athletes, or athletes to compete in a new sport, local programs are not assessed for their first year competing as a new local program, as a new athlete, or as an athlete trying a new sport for the first time.
Transitioning to Community Program
We want an athlete to be able participate in Special Olympics throughout their lifetime and Community Programs allow just this – programming for all age ranges and a variety of sports opportunities both in the community and within the schools in their area.
Becoming a Community Program established begins with identifying the key players involved in the nearby Unified Champion Schools (UCS) programming and the Local Program and scheduling an initial meeting to learn about each other’s programs. Those present at the initial meeting, which should include an athlete from both the UCS program and the Local Program, may discuss strategies for communication, opportunities to collaborate and share resources, and gather feedback from athletes as to what they would like out of the Community Program.
There are many ways Unified Champion Schools and Local Programs may collaborate as the Community Program is established including:
- Including a School Liaison position on their Local Program leadership team
- Sharing resources such as facility space, fundraising opportunities, sports equipment
- Establishing a plan for Fans in the Stands
- Creating a shared calendar of events to share with athletes, families, volunteers and coaches
- Sending out a shared newsletter including information on what is happening in the area, both in Unified Champion Schools programming and Local Program programming
Communication is a key piece of ensuring a Community Program is successful in reaching all those who are eligible and interested in participating. Each Community Program will need to understand the communication needs for those who are involved and should seek feedback on which modes of communication are most effective for your community including, but not limited to, email newsletters, mailed newsletters, phone calls, or updates posted on the Program’s microsite.