| CYO Athletic Ministry |
CYO Hotline
585-328-3228 or 800-388-7177 (then press 1375)
Faith Through Sports Celebration
April 12, 2008, 1:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral
Faith Through Sports Nomination Form (word document)
Faith Through Sports Information Letter (word document)
10 Ways Youth Ministers Can Support CYO
Diocese of Rochester
CYO Athletics
In 1939 CYO began in the Rochester Diocese. The Catholic Youth Organization was developed to organize a Diocesan effort to provide outreach and support to Catholic boys and girls. It was originally founded to offer networking and organization of parish activities as an vehicle “of youth, by youth and for Christ.” It that way, it could be considered a precursor to today’s youth ministry.
CYO Athletics is a ministry of the Diocese of Rochester and a part of comprehensive youth ministry. CYO is one dimension of total ministry to youth and as such, has as its primary mission the making of Disciples. In a very real way, CYO Athletics provide young people the opportunity to practice Christian attitudes and responsibility in their relation to others.
Organizationally, CYO Athletics is part of the diocesan Department of Evangelization and Catechesis and part of Youth Ministry outreach. There is an obvious component of evangelization in CYO Athletics; an opportunity to strengthen the connection of baptized Catholics to their Church and an opportunity to be a witness of what a Catholic Christian believes and lives to those who are not Catholic. For these reasons, certain principles apply.
- CYO Athletics are built on mutual respect
- CYO Athletics celebrate the dignity of each individual person
- CYO Athletics encourage the unique gifts of each participant.
- Principles of fair play and sportsmanship govern all games, practices and scrimmages.
- Participants, both youth and adult, model Christian values and virtues.
- CYO Athletics allow the gifted to excel, and the less gifted to participate and improve.
- Playing is more important than winning.
- Wining well is more important than winning.
How we are structured.
At the present time, CYO is organized regionally: there is a CYO of Seneca Falls, Waterloo, Newark and Geneva; an Elmira CYO and an Auburn CYO as well as CYO Athletics of Monroe County. All of these groups exist with the same mission and purpose but local rules apply to the administration of CYO. Each regional group has an organizational Board committee, and there is a representative committee which serves as the umbrella for all CYO Athletics in all parts of the Diocese.
For the last year a committee composed of members from each CYO group has been meeting to develop a Charter for CYO in the Diocese of Rochester. This Charter would provide us with common structure, language and philosophy and with explanations of diocesan, regional and local responsibilities. The Draft Charter is completed, and soon the Diocese will begin a process of inviting input before the final Charter is approved.
