Wairarapa Midweek Wed 11th May

Page 1

Wairarapa’s locally owned community newspaper

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022

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‘Magic moments’ for athletes Erin Kavanagh-Hall

erin.kavanagh-hall@age.co.nz

A new sporting group is giving young people the opportunity to develop their fitness, find a sense of belonging, and be themselves - in “a space where the small wins can be celebrated”. Although, after some more training sessions, Wairarapa’s Special Olympians hope to get some big wins under their belt. Special Olympics Wairarapa, first launched in the region in 2011, has added basketball to its roster - forming a team of 10 young athletes at the start of this year. The team, which trains at Wairarapa College every Friday afternoon during the school term, is open to primary and secondary school pupils living in the Wairarapa region who have learning [intellectual] disability. Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organisation for children and adults with learning disability — providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants in 72 countries worldwide. New Zealand has 43 active Special Olympics sports clubs - whose

members participate in a range of Olympictype disciplines, from equestrian, to athletics and swimming, to artistic gymnastics. Though it has been active for over a decade, the Wairarapa club’s numbers have dwindled in recent years, with only two athletes currently competing at a national level. Its new basketball team was the brainchild of Amanda Kawana, head teacher at WaiCol’s Whare Awhina unit [formerly the Supported Learning Centre], which caters to disabled rangatahi who receive ORS funding. Kawana wanted her students to have the same opportunities to participate in sport as their non-disabled peers – which can be difficult in a mainstream school environment. “Our kids are often unable to play sport in an environment where they feel comfortable and accepted,” she said. “Sport is a big part of life for young people – so why shouldn’t children Continued on page 3

Kia Sorento Diesel is Back

It’s all about the “magic moments” for Special Olympics Wairarapa’s new basketball team. PHOTO/ERIN KAVANAGH-HALL

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