SONC Staff Contacts

Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

Awards Handbook Individual Awards Presentations

1. Introduction

The purpose of this manual is to show you the different aspects of the Award Ceremonies. As the Awards Manager for your venue, you will be responsible for planning and coordinating all Awards Ceremonies for your sport. Awards Ceremonies should honor and respect the dignity and performance of all athletes.

Distributing awards to the athletes is a very exciting event, but also one that must be organized and coordinated to maintain a constant flow of athletes through the awards area. Because of the large amount of athletes that will be flowing through the awards area, it is imperative to give the athletes enough time to enjoy their awards, but also keep the pace flowing so awards do not back up competition.

2. General Guidelines  There should be a sufficient number of awards areas at venues to allow awards presentations to occur immediately following each ability division’s competition. Some venues may require two or more awards areas.  Awards areas should be near the competition field of play; should be accessible to athletes, coaches, families, medical and spectators; and should not require any participant to interrupt another competition or awards presentation to reach it.  Immediately following the conclusion of the athletes’ performances within a heat division of final game the athletes should proceed to the Awards Staging area. Do not wait until all the competitions are complete to distribute awards.  Athletes should be escorted through the entire awards process.  The awards area should have some method of amplification, whether it be a bullhorn, public address system, etc.  The awards area should have a sense of pageantry and color through creative use of pennants, greenery, banners, etc. The Special Olympics banner should hang behind the awards stand (where applicable & if available).  Award stands will be used for individual sports. Athletes should be escorted on the stands, but volunteers should not remain on the stands throughout the ceremonies.  The Athletes are positioned on the awards stands according to placement in the competition. The athletes may walk up and over the stand to their respective place. Partners and Unified Partners should be placed on the ground in front of their athlete partner who is placed on the stand.  Gold in the middle, Silver on the left and Bronze on the right as you face the awards stand. Fourth through Eighth are then alternated 4th left, 5th right, 6th left, 7th right, and 8th left. Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

 Only official medals and ribbons, not any other awards or fits, may be presented during the Ceremony  Only Athletes – not coaches or managers – may be in the Ceremony. Only athletes that are present may receive awards. Athletes that are scratched and did not compete do not receive an award and neither do coaches, managers, siblings, etc.

3. Awards Committee Checklist – Prior to competition  Recruit volunteers to and assign Awards Managers to each competition venue in order to oversee the Awards operations.  Coordinate with the Competition & Venue Committees to plan the arrangement of an awards area at each competition venue.  Coordinate with the Logistics & Support Services Committee to arrange for signs that identify awards areas, and for painting the award stands.  Coordinate with the Honored Guests’ Committee to arrange for Honored Guests to present awards at each venue.  Draw up an awards area plan for each competition venue layout, including staging areas and locations for award stands and public address announcers.  Coordinate with the respective venue’s Venue and Support Services team committee to procure award stands, tables, chairs, benches and a PA system for each awards area.  Ensure all award stands (for individual awards) have eight separate platforms and are numbered one through eight, from the highest to the lowest platform.  Procure appropriate presentation “trays” on which to place the awards in the correct order before they are given to the athletes by the designated presenters.  Develop & execute specific plans, including the Special Olympics Awards Presentation Script, for presenting competition medals and ribbons.  Coordinate with the Fall Games Competition Director and Administration Director to develop procedures for having results sheets delivered to the awards table at each competition venue.  Coordinate with the Support Services Committee to procure two-way radios so the awards coordinator at each venue can communicate with the Awards Committee desk when necessary.  Organize and conduct a training for all Awards Committee personnel to discuss duties, schedules, conduct, etc.  Schedule and conduct a walk-through of the games site for all Awards Committee personnel.  Inventory all medals, ribbons and awards to confirm that the correct amounts have been received.  Set up and decorate all awards areas for games.

4. Awards Committee Checklist - During the tournament Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

 Count and distribute awards to the venues as necessary.  Keep results sheets and awards staging records in a safe place (envelope or box) in order to record how many and to whom awards were distributed  Execute awards ceremony protocol according to the Special Olympics North Carolina Awards Ceremony protocol and script.  Encourage the awards presenters to reinforce the athletes’ achievements by adding a personal word of congratulations while presenting the awards.  Clean up the awards areas, as well as re-inventory awards during and after the Games.

5. Awards Committee Checklist - After the tournament  Return all unused awards in their respective storage boxes to the Logistics Manager for each venue.  Clean up all awards areas  Send thank you letters to all Awards Committee volunteers  Prepare a report and provide written feedback to the appropriate person(s).

6. Equipment  Medals (Gold, Silver, Bronze) & Ribbons (4th – 8th and Participant)  Awards trays  Boom box/PA System  Microphone or bullhorn (depending on sound system available)  Awards CD & handbook  Team Rosters; Sport Programs  Pre-printed athlete labels for awards. The label takes care of two important things: it ensures the correct award goes to the right athlete; and it helps us return the award to the athlete should it get lost.

7. Final Thoughts…  Due to the importance of the awards presentation, and its place in legitimizing the competition and the accomplishments of the athletes, there is a specific protocol when it comes to the presentation. This protocol is designed to provide the appropriate pageantry and create a dignified ceremony of which the athletes can be proud. Deviation from this protocol cheats the athletes of their rightful ceremony.  It is important for the families of the athletes, as well as caregivers and spectators because it keeps the focus on the athletes and their accomplishments  Ties: Where two or more athletes tie for any place, duplicate awards shall be given to each of such athletes, and in such case no award shall be given for the place immediately following the tied position. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. For example: Two athletes tied for 2nd, award two silver medals, skip bronze, and continue with 4th. Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

 What if an athlete/team is awarded the incorrect award (e.g. a 4th place ribbon when they should receive 3rd, or vice versa)? A: First of all, do NOT ask the athletes to give back their awards in either case. Have them continue on with their other events, and consult the Competition Manager as soon as possible to double check the standings. Once the Competition Manager has approved the places and there was an incorrect awarding, give the teams their appropriate award in addition to the incorrect award they received. If they volunteer to give back their award, it is ok to take it. However, we do not ask the athletes to return their awards. This situation should be immediately reported to the Awards Director.  Heat sheets, division sheets, and results will come from competition, and sometimes will have places written, and sometimes will not. It is important to look at the heat sheet and the divisions listed on the heat sheet, as we award by division, and not necessarily by heat  After you have awarded the division, RETURN THE HEAT SHEET BACK TO THE RESULTS COORDINATOR. What you have are the actual results from the competition and they are very important. Please have a person designated to “run” the results to the results coordinator.  Lastly, HAVE FUN! Being an awards volunteer, you are involved in one of the most important facets of this competition! Be proud of your awards area and presentation, make it the best you can, and the athletes will love it. Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

AWARDS TEAM PERSONNEL POSITION NUMBER

Awards Manager...... 1  Responsible for training and overseeing awards team  Oversee setup of awards preparation area and awards presentation area  Ensure adequate number of awards are available  Cue announcer and music  Ensure awards ceremony is conducted in a safe and dignified manner

Awards Assistant...... 2  Setup awards preparation area and awards presentation area  Organize awards for each game  Verify labels with team roster  Receive results sheets from runner/competition manager  Place labels on proper awards  Arrange awards on tray(s)  Fill out announcers script(s)

Helper/runner...... 1  Take results sheets from scorekeeper/competition manager to awards assistants(s)  Take completed announcer script to announcer

Announcer...... 1  Announce awards using awards script

Presenter...... 1  Present awards to each athlete as announced during awards ceremony

Awards Bearer...... 2  Carry award(s) tray(s) for presenter

Athlete escorts...... 4  2 athlete escorts per team; one escort at each end of team line  Arrange athletes into roster line-up (first athlete on the roster is closest to the center line)  Lead athletes to end line; then under basket; the to center court  Stand behind athletes during ceremony  After ceremony, lead athletes back to staging area to return to coaches

Total for Awards Team...... 12

Ideal awards team is 12 people but some duties may be combined to reduce the number required. Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

Individual Awards

8 6 4 2 1 3 5 7

A Staging Awards Area Preparation

E 8 6 4 2 1 3 KEY 5 E = Escort – 4 needed 1. Athletes are staged in awards stand order 7 8,6,4 = Athletes in award stand order 2. Escorts lead athletes onto awards stands in award stand order E B = Awards tray bearers (escorts assist athletes from behind the awards stands) P = Presenter 3. Presenter presents lowest place award first, then next highest etc. A = Announcer Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

Awards Protocol

1. Notify Venue Director of Awards Team presence 2. Finalize setup of awards area  If permanent, arrange at designated awards area.  If temporary, insure all materials are in proper place, awards area site is defined and procedures for set-up are reviewed 3. Review list of presenters and begin presenter check-in process  Prepare list of potential presenter substitutes  Line up presenter escorts 4. Review competition schedule  Check progress of competition  Organize Awards Team prior to end of competition 5. Runner will bring results when each division has completed competition 6. Label awards with preprinted labels.  For Medals: fold the label in half at the seam of the ribbon. When placing the medal around the athlete’s neck, the label goes toward the back  For ribbons: place the label on the slip of cardstock attached on the back of the ribbon 7. Complete Announcer’s script  Prepare event description portion before event ends  Use official results sheet to complete awards script  Deliver to awards announcer just prior to the awards ceremony for this division 8. Arrange awards on tray  Check that awards are properly labeled 9. Give results to athlete escorts to line up athletes 10. Athlete escorts will bring athletes to staging area  Line up athletes in the following order  8th place  6th place  4th place  2nd place  1st place  3rd place  5th place  7th place 11. Orientation of presenters  Awards manager introduces him/herself and welcomes them  Briefly explain ceremony procedures  Show them a diagram of ceremony  Escort then to line-up area 12. Order of Awards Presentation Team  1st Athlete escort Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

 2nd (Athletes in order) 8 6 4 2 1 3 5 7  3rdAthlete escort  4th Awards bearer and presenter side by side 13. Signal ceremony start  Cue music (See Announcer script).  Cue Announcer (See Announcer script).  Cue Athlete Escorts  Cue Awards Presentation Team 14. Ceremony procedures (See ceremony diagram)  On cue, first athlete escort leads athletes to presentation area (assisting athletes onto the proper awards stand)  Second athlete escort follows behind athletes and stops one step before 7th place stand  Awards bearer and presenter stop before lowest place athlete  As announcer calls out place and name of athlete, presenter takes proper award from tray and places it around athlete’s neck.  Presenter shakes athletes hand  Awards bearer and presenter proceed to next higher placed athlete  As Announcer calls out place and name of athlete, presenter takes proper award from tray and places it around athlete’s neck.  Presenter shakes athletes hand  This is repeated until all awards are presented.  When announcer calls for recognition of winners, awards bearer and presenter return to staging area. The athlete escort that followed at the beginning of the ceremony turns and leads athletes off. The other athlete escort 15. Return athletes to the staging area for their next event 16. Escorts must insure that athletes are supervised until coaches come to take them back to team area 17. Have runner return results to results coordinator Special Olympics North Carolina I n d i v i d u a l A w a r d s H a n d b o o k

SPORT: ______

1. Start CD or Tape DIVISION: ______

2. Announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention to the awards stands.”

3. Play music while the athletes approach the awards stands and end music when all athletes are in position. Escorts move to the side and out of the line of sight.

4. Announcement: “It is my pleasure to announce the results of division ______of the ______competition. Presenting the awards will be ______.” (Name & Description/Title of Presenter; ex. Suzie Q., Miss Teen North Carolina)

REMEMBER TO PAUSE AFTER EACH NAME FOR AWARD PRESENTATION

5. “WINNING a Participation Ribbon is ______.” (Name & Program; ex. Jane Smith from Wake County)

“WINNING THE 8TH PLACE RIBBON IS ______.”

“WINNING THE BRONZE MEDAL IS ______.”

“WINNING THE SILVER MEDAL IS______.”

“WINNING THE GOLD MEDAL IS ______.”

6. Announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, please recognize these outstanding athlete of

division ______in the ______competition.“ Aquatics Event) 7. Pause for athletes to wave.

9. Play music as they exit.