Students Hard Earned Recognition at Special Olympics
Rotherham College student, Jamie-Lee Jordan, recently earned a Certificate of Recognition at the Special Olympics GB 2016 National Basketball competition in Manchester.
Jamie-Lee was recognised by peers and competition management as having inspired, impressed and truly embodied the Special Olympics values during the competition.
Although Jamie has a learning disability, this has not stopped him from achieving many goals. At Dinnington High School he received many ‘Student of the Week’ and ‘Student of the Month’ awards and was the first student to receive the ‘Penny Wain Wright Overcoming Adversity Award’ for outstanding work and involvement throughout his school years.
From the age of 16 Jamie-Lee began attending Active Ability Athletics Satellite sessions under the guidance of his athletics coach.
In 2014, Jamie was presented with the Man of Steel Award certificate and in 2017 his name will be inscribed on a statue near Meadowhall shopping centre overlooking Sheffield and Rotherham.
Jamie continued his studies at Rotherham College studying the Certificate in Skills for Further Learning and Employment at Entry Level 3 in Catering. Jamie said “the tutors are really supportive, if you have an interest in cooking just give it a try.”
In April 2016 Jamie was encouraged to attend Special Olympics Launch event at the English Institute of Sport and now plays football for Doncaster Titans and basketball for the Rotherham Hawks.
He has recently won two bronze medals at the Special GB Olympics National Basketball competition as well as winning a silver medal in the team’s category. He was also awarded a Certificate of Special Recognition for being “an athlete having been recognised by their peers and the competition management staff as having inspired, impressed and truly embodied the Special Olympics Values during the competition.” He will be competing at the Special Olympics Event in 2017.
Jamie is still attending Active Ability Coaching sessions which gave him the confidence he needed to play three sports as well as pass his exams and live an active life. He plans to continue his studies for another year before gaining employment.
“I was nervous at first but once I started to build my confidence I got better and better as I went along” said Jamie.