Founded in 1985, Special Olympics Isle of Man (charity no. 358) provides intellectually disabled men, women and children with help through sport.

Some people perhaps think that Special Olympics involves only a few days of games once or twice a year. In reality, the training never stops and is as important as the competition itself.

Special Olympics IoM offers a lifetime of learning through sport, and benefits individuals on the island of all ages and ability level, from those with low motor abilities to highly skilled athletes.

Back in May, a team of 18 athletes returned from competition in Malta with 12 medals: two golds, three silvers and seven bronze.

On Sunday the charity held a Jubilee party in Douglas at its base, Centre 21 – which was privately funded through donations at a cost of around £1.7 million.

The centre is shared by the Special Olympics, Manx Mencap, Down’s Syndrome Isle of Man, Autism in Mann and Manx Gateway.

Sunday’s party was a brilliant affair.

There was even an appearance from the Lieutenant Governor, SirJohn Lorimer who praised the island’s ability to get behind a charity in support, saying: ‘This island is fantastic at wrapping its arms around organisations. It’s got a remarkable sort of voluntary ethos, which is brilliant. People want to get engaged.’

Music was provided by Shoddy Woddy, and food by Niarbyl Catering.

I went along to catch up with the athletes, coaches, carers and helpers.

The first person I spoke to was Beryl Wooldridge, Special Olympics IoM’s national director, who has been working with the charity for the past 29 years.

The athletes call her Mary Poppins, and for good reason. Back in 1995, the team travelled to the World Summer Games in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, and if anyone needed anything, you could bet it was in her bag.

She said: ‘I’d have scissors, screwdrivers, pins, studs for football boots, plasters, you name it!

‘And one of the athletes christened me Mary Poppins, that is the gospel truth, and I’ve been Mary Poppins ever since.’

Beryl got involved with the charity when her daughter Nicola began to get interested in sport and dance, and she credits the charity with making a huge difference to the lives of young people.

This sentiment was echoed by Ann Corlett, MHK and chair of the charity, who has been away to several competitions with the teams.

‘I’ve had the absolute privilege to go to a few competitions. We went to the World Games in Abu Dhabi, and it was just something else.

‘Just watching what people can achieve is incredible.’

The Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, Julie Edge MHK also sang the charity’s praises, highlighting the opportunities it gives its members.

She said: ‘It’s just great that [the members] can be involved and see a lot of the world through the Special Olympics, at all levels.

‘I think that’s the important thing, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at, if you can compete and get to somewhere then that’s the most important thing, to make that progress.’

There is something for everyone, with different sports every night of the week, from badminton to boxing, football to 10 pin bowling.

Perhaps no-one could sum up the power of what the charity does better than Donna Butler, whose 17-year-old son Ethan went to Malta and won Bronze with the football team.

She said: ‘For him, we never knew where he wanted to be in life, because he was always one of the kids at school that everyone thought he wasn’t going to make much of himself, but since being in Special Olympics, it’s focussed his mind.

‘So now, he’s doing a course at college on sports and coaching, and every spare minute is with sports of some description. Even to the point where he’s actually been coaching a primary school.

‘It’s all off the back of the confidence he’s acquired from being here. It’s just incredible, I just couldn’t imagine five years ago, he would be the tall, strong, competent, confident young lad he is now.

‘Without this, I don’t know where he would’ve been now. He’s always had an interest in sport, but he was never given the confidence at school of “you can do this”.

‘Whereas here, if someone’s not having a good day, they all put an arm around each other. If someone reacts badly to a tackle, someone else is there saying “it’s okay, you’ll be fine”, and so, they’ve got the confidence to be who they are, rather than who they are expected to be in society.

‘Up here, it doesn’t matter if someone is upset, or angry, they all just look after each other, because they just are who they are. And to see all their smiling faces - over in Malta particularly, when they saw them all line up getting their medals – it’s just camaraderie between the coaches, these young men finding their way in the world, without having eyes on them judging them.’

Malta was a priceless experience for Donna, who got to see her son gain new confidence she didn’t know he had in him.

She reflected on the experience, saying: ‘It was incredible.

‘He’d never been on a plane before. He’d never been off the island except to the likes of Chester.

‘On the plane going there he was very nervous, but because everybody else was so reassuring, they were just one big family and looked after each other. Then when we got there he went off to the athletes hotel, and I was staying with the families and he was in his element.

‘He got to know lots of athletes from other countries around the world that he wouldn’t have gotten to see before - he was absolutely loving it. I’ve never seen him so confident.

‘He’s very shy with people he doesn’t know, so the fact that when they were waiting for their team to go on, he was just going up to other athletes from other countries and going “Hi, I’m Ethan from the Isle of Man, where are you from?” was amazing.

‘They had such a great time and looked after each other so well, particularly those that had been away quite a few times before.’

Lawrence Dyer, who started training with the charity all the way back in the beginning, in 1985, has ran in marathons, finished the Parish Walk and represented the island in multiple competitions.

He won two bronze medals in Malta, in the 800m and the relay.

His advice for anyone considering getting involved?: ‘Just come and enjoy. It’s something to do and there’s always something to look forward to. It’s great, I love it.’

l If you would like to donate to the charity, any and all funds are welcomed. More information can be found on the group’s Facebook page. New volunteers and coaches are also sought. The charity also hosts a number of fundraisers throughout the year. Coming up is a duck race at Silverdale on July 10 (ducks are still available for purchase), summer bingo on July 20, and the charity will be at Douglas Carnival on July 23.