The Vodafone Malta Foundation is once again supporting the Maltese Special Olympics Team, who will be participating for the first time at the European Unified Volleyball Tournament in Istanbul Turkey this June. The unified team will be made up of mainstream players and players from the Special Olympics team.
“We are delighted to once again give our support to the Maltese Special Olympics,” said Martin Gregory, Head of HR at Vodafone Malta. “Enabling Maltese athletes to participate alongside other Special Olympics organisations worldwide is an honour and we are sure that the team will achieve success once again this year”.
A total of 16 European teams will be participating in the tournament with the Maltese delegation made up of a total of 14 people. Training sessions are held 3 times a week with players training alongside mainstream players. Moreover unified friendly games are organized regularly to give players as much experience as possible.
In 2012, for the first time Special Olympics Malta took part in a volleyball tournament held during the Special Olympics Regional Games in Lombardy, Italy. The competition was a unified one, with teams made up of 4 Special Olympics players and 2 mainstream players. This was the 4th time that Special Olympics Malta participated in these games but it was the very first time that Special Olympics Malta took part in the Volleyball tournament where they placed third andwon the bronze medal. The Special Olympics Malta team gave a striking performance in the athletics competitions, bringing home a total of 27 medals.
“Integrating our athletes in society and enabling them to live a meaningful and independent life is a task that we have at heart,” said Ms. Anna Calleja, National Director, Special Olympics Malta. “We work very closely with the athletes’ families and we constantly strive to bring athletes with and without learning disabilities together by organize events where they can play and compete alongside one another in a fair and formal environment. Our goal is to break down barriers in the community, promoting full inclusion of learning disabled youngsters whilst encouraging social interaction between them and others.”
For further information and updates on results visit Special Olympics Malta Facebook page.