Balance 180 Gymnastics and Sports Academy

Sports Instruction - We offer a number of programs specifically designed for children with special needs as well as programs that integrate children with and without special needs. The programs are described below.Special Olympics Gymnastics Program: We have developed a strong programmatic partnership with the Special Olympics Florida to offer gymnastics in the North Florida Region. The program is specifically designed to allow boys and girls ages 8 and above with an intellectual or developmental disability to train and compete in all the gymnastics events. The program is designed to promote their motor, cognitive and social skills. The boys program includes 6 events - High bar, rings, parallel bars, pommel horse, vault and floor. The program for girls includes 4 events: Floor, bar, beam and vault. Activities are adapted to the ability level of each child. Our partnership with Special Olympics goes back to the summer of 2012 when we first started covering

Public Education/Awareness - We have implemented multiple strategies to educate the community and disseeminate health information in regard to sports in children. The cornerstone of our public health education on sports in children with disability is organized around the Adaptive Gymnastics Recreational Program. We also organize gym wide events several times a year that showcases all of our athletes and focuses on integration of all children. Students, parents, volunteers, family and members of the general community are invited via email, listservs, personal invitations and Facebook announcements to our events. The Special Olympics events includes key note presentations by prominent disability advocates, Special Olympics representatives, and prominent members of the community with significant visibility. The goal of these events is to give our athletes the opportunity to showcase their newly learned skills and raise awareness about two important concepts: 1) the

Training Activities - Our programs involve a large number of volunteers and there are a variety of volunteer opportunities as well as internships. The majority of volunteers work directly with the children enrolled in our sports programs, assisting children with disabilities. 90% of the volunteers consist of university students and all of them receive training. Prior to the start of a session, two training classes (120 minutes) are organized and volunteers are educated on how to adapt activities to a childs ability, create progressions, handle behavioral issues, provide encouragement and positive feedback, and handle specific disabilities. In addition, all volunteers receive hands-on training, which is provided by volunteer physical and occupational therapists, and educators. Since starting the programs in June 2012, training has been provided to over 2,500 volunteers. All training activities are free of charge and volunteers are not provided any compensation