NZCT Supports Special Olympics Manawatū Trust

NZCT recently awarded $14,352 to support four special athletes to wing their way to Berlin - to attend the World Summer Games, and for ongoing van hire.

Secretary and Sports Coordinator Helen Johnson said "We requested funds to assist our four local athletes to attend the Special Olympic Summer World Games which are being held in Berlin, from the 17 to 25 of June. Also, as most of our athletes are not in paid work, we are in constant need of van hire funding to transport our athletic teams when they compete against other Special Olympic clubs across the North Island."

Funding from NZCT will also enable us to host events, take athletes and coaches to local, regional and national events. We host events in athletics, golf, bocce, basketball, golf, power-lifting, swimming, table tennis, football and snow sports. As an active club, we pride ourselves by taking teams to all events available in our regional along with both the National summer and winter games. We are also proud of the volunteers who work tirelessly to accommodate our athletes living with disabilities. Special Olympics Manawatū took a team of 123 members to the Special Olympics Summer National games in Hamilton in 2022.

The dedicated work of our athletes and volunteers is reflected by Special Olympics NZ selecting four athletes and two coaches from the Manawatū to represent NZ at the Special Olympics Summer World Games. The events Special Olympics Manawatū has hosted in the past were all sport training ground and competition ground for many of our athletes and volunteers across the country.

In the past, many of our competitive athletes have been excluded from mainstream opportunities. The understanding support and opportunities that our coaches extend to our athletes leads to feelings of success, achievement, pride, a sense of belonging and the building of motivation to improved wellness and seek opportunities to be included in other community opportunities.

Special Olympics offer opportunity for members to grow and share success. Unlike most sporting codes, all of our administration people are volunteers. We prefer any funding to go to enabling our athletes and coaches to attend training, and competitions. Our athletes have stories of success they can share with the wider community, while volunteers are given the opportunity to learn and gain confidence.