Staying at Home, Staying Healthy and Staying Connected

Kelly Wren | Special Olympics athlete and leader
 

Hi everyone, as we go into not being able to train or compete with Special Olympics and we can’t see each other and talk and laugh together, I thought it would be a good time to share some ideas on how we can stay connected with each other. We are all still team-mates and training friends after all.
We have already been given ideas about staying fit and healthy while isolated at home with links to Fit 5, Find Your 30 and Sprout – an app for fitness which you can download.

Here they are if you don’t have them already:

 

Stay in Touch

I believe we need to stay in contact with each other. How do we do that? Here are some ideas that I have thought about:

  • Pick up the phone and call your friends.
  • Text them
  • Message them using Messenger
  • Tag them in photos on Facebook – it is a year ago this week that the World Summer Games so there are lots of photos coming up in our Memories that we can share.
  • Chat about how you are using your time.
    • What are you doing?
    • Are you reading a good book?
    • Are you watching a good show on Netflix or Stan or Free to Air TV?
    • Are you baking? Are you cooking? Share your recipes.
    • Are you listening to any music?
  • Let each other know if someone on your team lives by themselves and may need to chat with a few different people.
  • Connect on social media remembering the rules – be nice, make nice comments about people, support each other, share the good news, share photos of your cat or dog or both.
  • Remember to be respectful - some people need space and timeout. Not everyone wants to talk all the time.

Let your fellow athletes and friends know that you are there for them and be grateful that they are there for you as well.

We have each other covered and we have each other’s backs. It’s what we do when we are training and competing – let’s continue that during this time. Let’s support each other.

Special Olympics Australia and Special Olympics International care about the athletes and have made their decisions based on the latest information and in our best interests. Let’s ensure that we all do our part for each other and for our coaches and for our families.

And let’s work together to make sure that no-one feels alone or forgotten.