Young Volunteer of the Year 2022 & Special Recognition
Jonny McCartney
What a year it has been for Jonny! From National medals at British Championships and British Masters, to being awarded Young Volunteer of the Year AND a Special Recognition Award 2022….it’s fair to say that it has been a very successful year for Jonny!
Like Amber, Jonny has dedicated his time to volunteering in LX. He works with the Special Olympics classes, using his experience to help others. Jonny really shines in his role as a volunteer coach, showing a lot of understanding and patience with our gymnasts, who really look up to him.
During lockdown, Jonny helped record videos for our LX At Home program, as well as videos for Special Olympics, which were used for their Virtual Competition. This really helped maintain gymnast engagement during a very difficult time.
Jonny has worked hard to further his own personal development. He has attended an Intro to Coaching, Intro to Judging and a Makaton Course. Jonny is also a member of the Special Olympics Athelte’s Forum.
Lockdown was difficult for Jonny, who thrives having a daily routine. Rather than let this get him down, he made adjustments, building daily activity and training into his lockdown routine. The benefits of this were very evident at competition, with Jonny having a very successful British Championships and Masters. In his first year competing as a Senior, Jonny walked away from both competitions with a load of National Medals…no mean feat!
This all stands Jonny in good stead, as he is now preparing for Special Olympics Advancement Events, where he hopes to get selected for Team Ireland for the SO World Games in Berlin 2023.
Congratulations on your 2 Awards Jonny!!! What an amazing role model you are!!!!!
We could not be more proud!!!!