Gülümse Sports Club was established to provide holistic development and break the barriers by bringing sports into the lives of people with disabilities in 2019. We want to enrich the lives of people with disabilities by providing equal sports opportunities and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life. We believe that sports benefits all equally and it enables all people to not only improve their physical and social skills and promote healthy lifestyle but also build friendships through sports.
Our objectives are;
Our target group consists of individuals with any form of disability, parents of these individuals, special education teachers and caregivers. Our target group covers all individuals with disabilities without any age or gender restriction. Gülümse Sports Club creates pathways of opportunities for its target group in various internal and external sports tournaments and competitions.
Gülümse Sports Club is an active organisation at the local level. It cooperates with Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers, NGOs working with/for disabled persons, Non- profit public bodies like Directorate of National Education, Lifelong Learning Center, District Sport Directorate. Gülümse Sports Club provides local and national opportunities for its members and individuals with special needs to participate in sports activities. Gülümse has been a member of Türkiye Special Athletes Sports Federation and Türkiye Disabled Athletes Sports Federation. These two federations are international federations with several sport branches for disabled persons.
Disabled athletes from Gülümse have been participating in tournaments arranged by these federations and won medals in the branches of table tennis, athleticism and swimming.
Gülümse provides disabled athletes with professional training and coaching with its volunteers. Gülümse has been organizing social and cultural events like concerts and picnics to bring together disabled individuals, their parents, teachers and caregivers. These activities foster relationships between society and disabled individuals. Gülümse has been organizing awareness campaigns on special days like Down Syndrome Awareness Day and Disability Week. Gülümse has been organizing events to inform parents of disabled individuals, teachers, caregivers and the public about disabilities and tips to ease the life of disabled individuals. Experts like speech therapist, physical therapist, psychologist, social workers meet with individuals and their parents to inform them and share their experience.
WHO WE ARE?
Halil Çakır, the president of the sports club, graduated from Selçuk University Faculty of Law in 2001. Following his graduation in 2005, he embarked on his legal career as an independent attorney and he has been operating his own law office known as Çakır Law Office in Iznik since 2007. After serving as the freelance lawyer for Iznik Municipality for about 12 years, he was elected as a Member of the City Council for both Iznik and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality in the 2019 Local Elections. He is currently serving as the Deputy Mayor of Iznik Municipality. He is also currently the chairman of Iznik Municipal Sports Club and actively participates in various projects under the European Union. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Department of Theology at Anadolu University and he is currently pursuing his education in the Department of International Relations and Political Science at Istanbul University.
Bilgehan Bozkurt is the founder of the association. She has been a special education teacher and counselor for parents of disabled individuals for 14 years. She also has been managing the public relations department at the center she has been teaching. In addition to her official occupation in a special education and rehabilitation center as a teacher and counselor, she founded Gülümse to support disabled individuals' physical and social skills.
Selin Bozkurt Yıldız is a physiotherapist with extensive experience in various rehabilitation techniques. Her education includes a degree in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation from Istanbul Kent University and ongoing Master’s studies at Istanbul Okan University. She has also completed courses in digital and social media marketing, Google Ads, and English language proficiency. Selin's professional experience encompasses internships at the Erdem Health Group, Erkim Special Education and Rehabilitation Center, and Memorial Healthcare, where she gained skills in neurological, orthopedic, pediatric, and intensive care rehabilitation, among others. Additionally, she has expertise in electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, robotics, virtual reality rehabilitation, and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. Selin's skills are complemented by her knowledge of social media management and content marketing.
Sabri Köse has an extensive background in sports, particularly as an educator and coach. He graduated from Atatürk University in 2008 with a degree in Physical Education and Sports Teaching. His career spans over a decade in education, serving as a teacher at Iznik Selçuk Secondary School from 2009 to 2017. He then progressed to administrative roles, becoming the Assistant Principal and later the Principal of Iznik Elbeyli Secondary School.His expertise encompasses various roles such as ski coaching, ski refereeing, canoe refereeing, cycling coaching, and running coaching. His passion for sports is not just professional; it extends to his personal interests, including running, cycling, canoeing, and basketball.
Remzi Emre Güven, a senior student in the Sports Management Department at Uşak University, serves as our club's secretary. He is actively involved in monitoring correspondence, planning, and organizing local and national events. He organizes social and cultural trips for individuals with special needs and assists the socialization, morale and motivation of disabled individuals.
İdris Can Bekar is a speech and language therapist. He provides consultancy services voluntarily to facilitate the lives of individuals and families with special needs.
Şinasi İlker Dizdar is a physiotherapist. He supports individuals with physical disabilities to enable them to participate in sports activities. He works voluntarily with disabled individuals.
Serpil Karakiraz has been a teacher of English for 15 years at public schools. She has a doctoral degree in educational sciences. She got training on Special Education, Special Education Services and Special Learning Disability Awareness Training. She has been giving local, national and international project management training to teachers. She has organized and managed EU funded projects about dyslexia and Autism Spectrum. She is responsible for project preparation, consultation and management.