Special Olympians Jarrod Gilbert and Tegan Crotty with swimming coach Shelley Blair. Photo / Supplied
Special Olympians Jarrod Gilbert and Tegan Crotty with swimming coach Shelley Blair. Photo / Supplied
Karāpiro local and sporting multi-talent Jarrod Gilbert is well-known by cyclists at the Cambridge Velodrome as the caretaker, but for the upcoming National Special Olympics, he will take on a different role.
Not only competing in the games as an athlete, the 28-year-old will also take on training for a senior position to become one of five Special Olympics athlete leaders.
Athlete leaders participate in four workshops throughout the year which give them the chance to develop leadership skills and tools to take back to their clubs and continue their roles as leaders within Special Olympics and in the wider community. The workshops culminate in a graduation at Parliament.
"I want to learn more about the Special Olympics, and I just want to get the awareness out there just to make people aware of what Special Olympics is all about," said Jarrod, who is Waikato's only athlete leader.
The other leaders are from Canterbury, Marlborough, Auckland and Whangārei.
In terms of his sporting endeavours, Jarrod is a world-class competitor who already won gold and bronze medals in snowboarding at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria five years ago.
For this year's national games in Hamilton in December, he will compete as a swimmer for the Te Awamutu stable, taking on the 25m and 50m freestyle, 25m backstroke and 4x25m freestyle relay.
Jarrod's swimming coach Shelley Blair is also a true Waikato Special Olympics legend who has been a swim coach for the Games since January 2005 and currently trains 20 swimmers from the Te Awamutu Special Olympics stable for the upcoming Games.
Shelley is a former Cambridge High School student and has been the supported activities and supported employment service manager for Te Awamutu-based disability organisation Enrich Plus.
Jarrod Gilbert works as a caretaker for the Cambridge Velodrome. His tool of trade is a big red mop which he pushes around the track. Photo / Supplied
As a caretaker at the Cambridge Velodrome, most cyclists say Jarrod is the most important person on the track because he makes sure the track is safe for the cyclists to use.
He understands the importance of getting the job right, as he is an athlete himself. His caretaking duties include maintaining the track for the cyclists, which means making sure there are no splinters in the wood.
"They are like little sharp needles, they fall out of the wood and if they get in their tyres, they get really grumpy and the mechanics have to find a new tyre," he explained.
His tool of trade is a big red mop which he pushes around the track. Jarrod also is a valued member of the Home of Cycling Trust staff.
Special Olympics was founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of US President John F. Kennedy.
It is the world's largest sports organisation for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities where nearly 3.3 million athletes from 200 countries compete in 30,000 competitions each year.
New Zealand sent its first athletes to the World Summer Games in the United States in 1983. Today, Special Olympics New Zealand has more than 5000 athletes and 1500 volunteers.
This year's National Summer Games will run from December 8 to 12 and are set to bring more than 1500 athletes and coaches and 600 volunteers to Hamilton.
The athletes will compete in 10 sports across eight venues. Swimming will be at Waterworld in Te Rapa.
