Swim team makes big splash at carnival
The Bay of Islands swim team made a big splash at the Special Olympics Swim Carnival, scooping more than two dozen medals.
Teams from as far south as the Waikato attended the club event for the upper North Island region on May 20 and 21 at Kawakawa Community Swimming Pool.
Clubs competed in a series of races including 25 to 200 metre swims, and freestyle and medley relays.
The Bay of Islands swim team - which consists of swimmers aged seven to 23 who train at Kawakawa and Kaitaia pools - walked away with seven gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze medals.
Their success qualified them for the Special Olympics National Summer Games in Wellington at the end of November.
Kawakawa swim coach Karen Markin says the carnival had a ‘‘brilliant atmosphere’’.
‘‘It was amazing. We had a lot of help from volunteers from all over Northland. There’s always such a good camaraderie at the Special Olympic events, you can see people shaking hands and congratulating each other regardless of whether they come first or last. It’s really nice to see.’’
The Bay of Islands swim team consists of Te Waipuke Tohu, Chris Newhouse, Rachel Harvie, Zadkeil Tango, Daniel Casbolt, Alex Goldsack, Adam Horsefall, Kelsey Heta, Lani Wallace, Aroha Morgan, Jasmine Lawrence, Tony Pakura, George King, Sarasin Ben and Denise Cameron.
They received support from Kawakawa coaches Ann Robinson, Taunaha Smith, Rachel Bray, Anika West and Steph Godsiff. Kaitaia coaches Denise Pure and Natasha King also helped out, along with team manager Nicole Grimme.
Markin says there were about 80 swimmers with coaches and carers at the carnival, making up about 150 people in total. The Kaitaia club made a hangi on Sunday, giving it a cultural element.
‘‘It was absolutely humming, it was packed the whole weekend.’’
Special Olympics New Zealand offers a year-round programme of sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
Each year, the organisation runs more than 200 events in over 40 towns and cities around the country. These events are supported by over 3000 volunteers.