Bus of dreams for Horowhenua team
Special Olympics athletes ready to compete
There were plenty of smiles as the Special Olympics Horowhenua bus pulled up early on Wednesday morning.
Climbing aboard were 18 athletes who will represent themselves, their families, and their province at the Freemasons New Zealand Special Olympics National Summer Games at Hamilton, which started on Thursday.
The mayor of Horowhenua, Bernie Wanden, came to see the athletes off and wish the team and their support crew well.
Special Olympics Horowhenua chairperson Cheryl Burden said the team were proud of the opportunity to represent Horowhenua and don the team uniform. The chance had been a long time coming, as the Games were meant to be held last year, only to be postponed.
“They’re so excited. For some, it’s a rare trip away,” she said. “It’s amazing to see the joy on their faces.”
The Horowhenua team will join more than 1000 Special Olympics athletes competing in 10 sporting disciplines at eight different venues. The opening ceremony took place at Claudelands on Thursday, and finishes on Monday night with a closing ceremony and a disco.
A massive amount of fundraising has gone into raising the $40,000 required to get the team and their support crew to Hamilton, with local businesses like Levin Truck Services being generous in their sponsorship, and the committee was reliant on charitable grant funding too.
There were some members of the team, like Greg Wright, 64, Dion Brunning, 46, and Cameron Easton, 40, who were no strangers to the competition, having competed at every national event since the early 1990s.
Brunning has also represented Horowhenua in basketball before, but chose to concentrate on swimming in recent years, entering multiple events to increase his medal chances. Like many of the athletes, he had put in a lot of training in in preparation for the event.
Horowhenua Bocce team manager Vivian Easton has been involved with Special Olympics teams since 1991 and said the worldwide movement provided athletes with an experience they might not otherwise have.
Some get the chance to compete overseas, too, like Aaron Campbell, who will represent New Zealand at the World Special Olympics in Berlin in 2024.
The National Summer Games have evolved to become one of the biggest sporting competitions in the country since they were first held in 1985. The next Summer Games will be held in Christchurch in 2025.
Special Olympics New Zealand is a community-based movement creating a safe and inclusive place for athletes with intellectual disabilities, and an opportunity to discover new strengths, skills and success.
THE TEAMS:
Horowhenua Bocce Squad: Cameron Easton, Corbin Spicer, Kristin Sullivan, Aaron Campbell, Greg Wright, Moncia Henry.
Volunteers: Vivian Easton, Sandy Sullivan.
Horowhenua Basketball Squad: Manaia Sawtell, Eru Whakatihi, Abraham Evetts, Campbell Smith, Priscilla Lomu.
Volunteers: Jenny Jarvis, Graeme Jarvis, George Marino.
Horowhenua Swimming Squad: Jessica Stalker, Jacob Brewer, Dion Brunning, Sam Caldow, Cameron Jarvis, Amy Van Wijk, Hamish McDermott.
Volunteers: Natalie Rankin, Mandy Molloy, Claire Watson, Sharon Tatana, Michelle Leong.
Team Manager: Cheryl Burden.
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To find out more about Special Olympics, visit https://special olympics.org.nz.