What is the Knights of Columbus Flag
Relay?
The
Flag Relay is the vehicle used by the Knights of Columbus in Ontario to
raise public awareness
of both Special Olympics and the continued support the Knights have for
the Special Olympics movement. It also serves as an umbrella under which
everything we do with Special Olympics, be it programs or fundraisers,
falls under. The Flag Relay offers a way for members of the Knights of
Columbus, the Squires and their families and friends to become involved,
at the local level, with Special Olympics in their communities throughout
the year.
For more information, please click
here.
How did the Knights of Columbus Flag
Relay 2016 begin?
In
early 2015, the Knights of Columbus in
Ontario were introduced to the Special Olympics Ontario School
Championships & Qualifiers program.
It was felt, by both the Knights and Special Olympics, that this was a
perfect match for us as it allows the
Knights to become more involved with Special Olympics at the local level,
since this program has the support of the majority of the school boards across
the province.
The Flag Relay thus allows for us to first raise public awareness
about Special Olympics
throughout Ontario. It also provides the Knights and their families the
opportunity to work
with Special Olympics within their communities
and to help the local Special Olympics athletes.
How
does the Knights of Columbus Flag Relay 2016 work?
There are six Special Olympics Flags, with 6 separate routes, that are
going from District to District
as a way to show our support for Special Olympics and the athletes
within our communities. The Flag Relay will begin on January 4, 2016
where each District will have the flag for one week, which includes the
time needed to pass the flag on to the next District. After the flags
travel across Ontario they
will come together for the Opening Ceremonies of the Special Olympics
Provincial School Championships in Durham Region on June 1-3,
2016.
Click
here for the routes
The flags were packaged in kits and were given to the first District
Deputies in the relay at the
District Deputies meeting held in Toronto on November 27-28, 2015.
Click
here for the kits
How to
promote the Knights of Columbus Flag Relay 2016?
Special
Olympics Ontario will be assisting us in promoting
our Flag Relay in the following ways:
1. Special Olympics Communities - Special Olympics Ontario has
informed their local communities throughout the province about
the Flag Relay. They have a copy of our schedule and routes,
so
each community is aware of where the flags are and when the flag
will be in their area. They are also looking forward to both
participating
in our program and being of assistance should you need their help.
Click here for Special Olympics contacts
2. Social Media - Special Olympics Ontario will be using social media
(Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to promote the Flag Relay.
Click
here for Special Olympics email address
3. Press Release - Special Olympics Ontario will be issuing a
press release to inform the public about our Flag Relay.
The Knights of Columbus will be promoting the Flag Relay
through the District Deputies, the Councils, online and on
the kofcflagrelay.com
website.
Click
here for a copy of your Promotion Guide.
Planning
your program for the K of C Flag Relay
1. Mark the date on your calendar as to when the Special
Olympics flag will be in your area.
2.
The District Deputies are asked to contact their Councils,
the Fourth Degree, Squires, etc. about the Flag Relay and
invite them to participate and sign the flag.
3.
Contact the local Special Olympics and invite them to
participate in your program and to sign the flag.
4.
Plan your
Activities. Have the Councils in your District, along
with the local Special Olympics, send any past pictures they may
have with regards to any Special Olympics programs that the
two organizations had done together in their area over the past year.
Send the pictures to KOCFlagRelay@specialolympicsontario.com
to be
posted on social media. Arrange for a photo-op with the flag,
possibly with
a Fourth Degree Honour Guard, Squires, Special Olympians, local dignitaries,
etc. Have everyone there sign the flag and the sign-in book.
Arrange for a
flag-raising event at a local school, city hall, police station, etc.
Organize
an event, have a fund-raiser or volunteer for a Special Olympics.
The possibilities are too numerous to mention here.
The
purpose of the Flag Relay is to sign the flag and send plenty of
pictures.
This in turn will raise both public awareness and possibly funds for
the athletes in your community and to promote our involvement in
the Special Olympics School
Championships & Qualifiers.
Click
here for a copy of your Planning Guide.
Implementing
your program for the K of C Flag Relay
You have received a copy of the schedule and routes.
You have marked the date on your calendar.
You have planned your Flag Relay program and contacted the
people who will be taking part in your Flag Relay program.
Now the flag is about to arrive in your District.
Once
you receive the Flag Relay kit, and confirm that the contents are in
place, you are asked to sign the flag to start the Flag Relay in
your
District and print your name in the book. Please review the material
on the USB drive which contains information about the
Flag Relay program.
Now
you can conduct your Flag Relay program, which can be...
A photo-op with the flag.
A
flag-raising event with Special Olympics
athletes at the local school
A
flag-raising event at City Hall
A
cheque presentation to the local Special Olympics
Conduct
a K of C Bottle Drive for Special Olympics
Conducting
a Special Olympics event.
Selling
K of C Raffle Tickets.
Supporting
a Special Olympics School Event.
Plus more...
The
three key components to any program, be it a photo-op,
an event or a fundraiser is to...
Sign the
flag
Sign the
Book
Email Pictures
Reporting
the results of your program K of C Flag Relay
During
the time the flag is in your District, a memo/log book is included in the
kit for you to
record your activities of your Flag Relay program. This includes Councils
that participated,
volunteer
hours, programs and events conducted, funds raised, if any, comments and
suggestions about the Flag Relay. Should you have any notes prior to
receiving the flag you can
save the file on the USB included with the kit.
This information can be used in completing the
Flag
Relay Report (State),
The
Partnership Profile Report
with Special
Olympics
(Supreme)
and the Jack
Clancey Award
(State).
A copy of these forms can also be found on the USB.
Continuing
the K of C Flag Relay (moving the flag)
As you approach the end of the week with the Flag, please contact
the next District Deputy
on your route who is scheduled to receive the flag where arrangements can
be made to transfer
the Flag, in a timely manner, so as to continue the Flag Relay.
If this passing of the Flag can be done personally, this would make
for a great photo-op as this could become a formal ceremony where
representatives from both Districts are present, possibly with a Fourth
Degree Honour Guard, to mark this memorable occasion.
However, if the distance between Districts is too great, we have included
bags from Purolator so that the kit can be transported by courier. The
information on how to use Purolator is on the USB and, if necessary,
Special Olympics can assist you.
If
you plan on using the courier, please arrange to take pictures of the Flag
before it leaves so that we will have a visual record of the flag arriving
and leaving the District.
After
the Flag Relay has left your District
After
the Flag has left the District you can still continue to submit pictures
of any of
your activities with Special Olympics, especially in particular with
regards to the
Special Olympics School Championships and Qualifiers program.
A Calendar of Events for this program can be found at
Qualifiers
Program Calendar of Events 2015/2016
How can the
Knights become involved with Special Olympics locally?
Through
the
Special Olympics School Championships and Qualifiers program the
Knights
can become more involved with Special Olympics at the local level, be it
by
conducting a Flag Relay event as part of the program, or by becoming a
volunteer, or by
to helping raise funds to assist an athlete with some of the costs
incurred
in participating in the program (Adopting An Athlete).
The
Special Olympics School Championships and Qualifiers program provides
quality
competition experience for students with an intellectual
disability aged 13 – 21 in the sports
of basketball, soccer, bocce and
track & field. 48 regional qualifying competitions will be held
throughout the 2015/2016 school year. Teams at each regional qualifier
will be vying for the opportunity to advance to the SOO School
Championships to be held June 1-3, 2016 in Durham.
Its
inaugural season began as a series of four youth Basketball competitions
during the
2011-2012 school year, advancing teams to a Provincial
Championship in Waterloo, the first
of its kind for school athletes with
intellectual disabilities. Its success led to an expanded offering in 2012-2013
providing 16 qualifying competitions in Basketball and Soccer,
culminating in a Championship held at York University May 14-15,
2013. A total of 1376 athletes participated
in the 2012-2013 season,
along with 351 coach-educators and 232 volunteers.
The
success of the project has highlighted the growing opportunity and
demand for improvement
to the quality and availability of competition
for school based athletes with intellectual disabilities. Prior to this
project, these opportunities were limited, with the majority of such
athletes either not participating in physical activity at school or
training in school clubs with little to no possibility of competition.
This project illustrates the effectiveness of using regional competition
as a way of introducing new athletes and coach educators to sport and
physical activity.
