Abbots Cross Special Olympics club was formed in January 2005 to help meet social and sporting-health needs of adults with learning disability in the Newtownabbey area. Now, almost 5 years on, this club is among the largest, in terms of member numbers, and most successful, in terms of competition medals, in the whole of Northern Ireland. Our success is due to the fervent commitment of our club volunteers who give generously of their time and talents (and of course the athletes who eagerly train and compete!).

The club meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesday evening of each month in Abbots Cross Presbyterian Church halls and we also use the Valley leisure centre for special training activities and competitions. Although most of our special athletes are from Newtownabbey, due to the shortage of clubs in the greater East Antrim area, we have athletes that travel from Carrickfergus, Larne and Ballymena.

Three competition sports are offered at the club. These are table tennis, bocce (an Italian form of bowls without a bias) and badminton. Recently a swimming club for people with learning disabilities has also become affiliated to the club and it runs on Monday evenings. Other non-competition sports on offer are pool, indoor curling and soft ball bocce.

The club is affiliated via Special Olympics Ulster to SO-Ireland and therefore our athletes may progress through area (East Antrim) events to regional (Ulster) events then to all-island events and then finally to world games which take place every 4 years. Winning a gold medal gives each athlete a chance for selection to the next level of games. In 2010 the event cycle is at the all-island games and this will be held in Limerick. (You may remember that Belfast hosted the previous all-island games in 2006 and Newtownabbey provided athlete accommodation and some sports venues) Our club has been extremely successful in having 15 athletes selected to represent Ulster in June 2010. We have 3 athletes for badminton, 4 for bocce and 8 for table tennis.

Our membership is open to anyone over 16 who have a registered learning disability. Volunteers to help with coaching, catering, administration and befriending are also welcome. Enquiries to Tom or Lee Armstrong - 9080 0226.