Special Olympian world track athlete Justene Noyer and her coach Ethney Barnaby. PHOTO/JOHN BORREN
Special Olympics provide sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Juliet Rowan talks to locals involved with the organisa-tion and hears of the joy and focus Special Olympics bring to their lives.
Justene Noyer is all smiles when we meet at Tauranga Domain.
She is in her running gear but talks happily of adding another sport to her repertoire after trying powerlifting the night before with Special Olympics.
"I'm the only girl in the group," the 32-year-old says proudly.
Justene joined Special Olympics when she was 9 and says the organisation adds a great deal to her life.
"It's a place where I can be accepted for who I am and who I want to be," she says.
"It keeps me mentally focused on what I want to do."
Special Olympics Tauranga athletics coach Ethney Barnaby agrees, saying the range of sports offered by the organisation allows participants to stay stimulated and strengthen different muscle groups.
"It also lets them meet new friends," Ethney tells 48 Hours.
Ethney has volunteered in the coaching role for five years and finds it hugely rewarding, saying most of the athletes "learn by doing" and co-ordination others take for granted can take practice.
She focuses on using clear instructions and considers a competition run without athletes crossing lanes or getting disqualified to be a win. "As a coach, you've done your job," she says.
At the moment, Ethney works mainly with adults but hopes more Bay children get involved in Special Olympics. "It will help them enrich their lives and improve the quality of their lives and keep them expanding their horizons."
Justene Noyer stands as a shining example, fulfilling a long-held dream to represent New Zealand at the Special Olympics World Summer Games this year.
More than 6500 athletes from 165 countries participated in the competition in Los Angeles, New Zealand athletes winning 32 medals, including 11 gold.
Justene came fourth in the 100m and fifth in shot put, and revelled in the experience, beginning with the opening ceremony.
It's a place where I can be accepted for who I am and who I want to be.
"Before I walked in, I was starting to get tears in my eyes. It was my first time out of the country."
Tenpin bowler Neil Oliphant was another Special Olympics representative from the Bay at the Games.
He came away with silver in the teams event and bronze in the doubles, after winning gold at national competitions.
Neil, 45, has been bowling more than 20 years and regularly scores 200-plus in a game.
He is often a "five-bagger", a bowler who accomplishes five strikes in a row, and watching him in action at Tauranga's tenpin alley, he is graceful and determined.
"It's something to keep me busy," he says. "It keeps your concentration going."
Neil is meticulous about recording all his bowls from his Saturday practises with coach Raewyn Judson in an exercise book.
He also plays socially on a Wednesday but says it is hard to tell when he bowls best, blaming lack of sleep in Los Angeles for coming eighth in the singles event there.
Raewyn, 73, drives from Katikati to coach Neil and the other tenpin bowlers each weekend, despite having never bowled herself.
"I'm a softballer by trade," she says with a laugh.
She says all participants, even those who cannot communicate verbally, get pleasure from the sessions.
"They're very accepting of each other. It's a social outlet for them and it's good exercise."
Raewyn's son Graeme, 29, is one of the bowlers and, like Justene, he is also trying powerlifting, which the Tauranga club recently added to make seven sports on offer.
"It's good for me because I've got to get rid of the puku," says Graeme, pointing to his stomach.
It's Monday evening and the Special Olympics Tauranga committee gathers in the boardroom of law firm Cooney Lees Morgan.
Central North Island regional sports co-ordinator Colleen Black is the only paid employee of Special Olympics in the room - the rest are volunteers - and she organises about 30 sporting and fundraising events in the Bay of Plenty/Waikato each year.
She also works with 44 schools to link students through to the region's seven Special Olympics clubs and aims to support the clubs' 142 volunteers.
"The people and the athletes keep you involved," she says. "You don't get to walk away. You're hooked for life."
She has worked for the organisation nine years, and says awareness of Special Olympics has greatly improved in the time. Instead of people asking "When's the next Olympics?", more understand that the organisation provides sports training and competition for anyone with intellectual disabilities.
There is also less confusion with Paralympics, which refers to physical disabilities.
R.J. Greer, 40, is the committee's athletes' rep and competes in athletics, swimming and tenpin bowling.
He has nothing but praise for Special Olympics after years of involvement around the North Island.
"It means a lot. I like competing. I like being at training sessions and being included in sport. I've got a lot of friends out of it."
Swimming coach Pat Wakelin has volunteered more than 15 years, joking that she'll stop when she's "in a wooden box".
Before I walked in, I was starting to get tears in my eyes. It was my first time out of the country.
Pat's 34-year-old daughter Kellie began swimming with Special Olympics when 15, and Pat says the organisation helps all participants build crucial life and social skills. "They build a really great comradeship."
Pat takes groups away to competitions and says it can be a big deal for those unused to travelling without their families.
But on overnight stays, everyone takes pride in carrying out duties, such as washing dishes, while bantering about rivals from other regions.
Over the years, Pat has "roped in" three staff members from Bay Engineers, where she works, to volunteer at Special Olympics, one of whom is Keryn Darroch, now Tauranga club secretary.
"They're great people to be with," says Keryn, a volunteer for five years, while Michelle Senkus, an administration manager at Cooney Lees Morgan, is involved in fundraising.
She organised quiz and auction nights to get Justene and Neil to the World Summer Games and is also involved in a community "Sunday Fun Day" on November 1 [see information box], saying she is inspired to help Special Olympics athletes have opportunities the rest of us take for granted.
Colleen praises Michelle and the other volunteers, particularly the coaches, saying, "It's a full-time job outside work".
The organisation is always looking for more volunteers, says committee chairperson Louella Axon, who also works at Cooney Lees Morgan.
A legal executive, she says the firm is supportive of her and Michelle's involvement with Special Olympics.
Louella has volunteered 10 years and has a 24-year-old son with Down's Syndrome who participates in a range of sports.
Apart from the physical benefits, she says, sport brings structure to participants' lives when finding a job can be impossible for many. Government funding cuts have made it a struggle for some to get transport to training sessions, Louella adds.
At this point, her son Aaron joins the group and the whole room erupts with laughter at his jokes.
He says golf is his favourite sport and boasts that he is a rising talent.
"I saw putts on TV with Tiger Woods and I want to be like him. I'm trying to be famous," he says.
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