Promotion of health is necessary for disabled athletes too
Not only our two students of Nutritional Therapy at the Faculty of Medicine Tamara Miškufová and Michaela Štejdířová are convinced of this. Both of them participated in the Special Olympics, which took place this year in Berlin. In order to participate as volunteers in the Games, they had to go through a selection process and then complete online training for working with athletes.
Our two students Tamara Miskufová and Michaela Štejdířová, future dietitians, participated as volunteers in the Special Olympics, which is a worldwide movement for the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities into mainstream life. They took part in the Health Promotion programme, a programme focused on prevention and nutrition. "We found out about the possibility of joining SOWG through the EFAD (The European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians) newsletter and also through an e-mail from Veronika Zelenka, MA, from the Institute of Public Health at the Faculty of Medicine, who alerted our nutrition therapy department to the event," Michaela and Tamara explain.
In order to participate, they had to apply to the organisers via email and go through a selection process. The organising committee then enlisted them as volunteers and they had to complete online training according to their professional focus and were also trained in working with disabled athletes. Another condition for participation was that they would attend at least 5 shifts at their workplace during the entire Games. The organisers provided catering and public transport for the volunteers throughout the event, which lasted from 17 to 24 June.
"Participating in SOWG gave us a great opportunity to interact with disabled athletes as they went through various stations, including measurements such as bone density. We also engaged in education on good nutrition. Upon completion of SOWG, we received 2 globally recognized certificates, one for our participation in SOWG and the other focused specifically on health promotion," Tamara elaborates.
Michaela adds, "We also had the opportunity to meet students and dietitians from around the world and learn about studying nutritional therapy in other countries. Communication was mostly in English, as English was the most used language among the athletes and their assistants/interpreters. Occasionally we also used our basic knowledge of German and Russian."
The target group for SOWG was of course the athletes who participated in the Games. The atmosphere was full of enthusiasm and support both at the stations and during the individual events. Athletes came to the stations curious to see what they would learn and what they would be able to try. "It was interesting to observe the different eating habits of different nationalities. It was a great and enriching experience and we are glad that we could participate in such an inspiring event," both girls agree.
Special Olympics World Games is a global movement with the aim of transforming the lives of people with intellectual disabilities through health, education and skills development programmes. The culminating event is the biennial Special Olympics, the world's largest sporting event for more than 5 million athletes with intellectual disabilities from 174 countries.
