Four Northern Beaches athletes will compete in the Special Olympics in Berlin this month as part of the Australian national team.
- Special Olympics in Australia today
- 7000 Participants
- 1,123 Volunteers
- 18 Sports
- 45 Clubs
- 3460+ Students in School programs
Lisa Weingartner will compete in athletics, Juliet Liddy and Sam Schloeffel in basketball, and Anders Kobula in golf. The locals train with the Sydney Northern Beaches Special Olympics Club. The Special Olympics globally supports over five million athletes in over 177 countries. It inspires people of all ages with intellectual disabilities to achieve their personal best through regular training and meaningful competition.
NSW Police Force Superintendent Patrick Sharkey presented team uniforms to the athletes at Dee Why Police Station in May.
Receiving their kit bags for the Games is a big part of the Northern Beaches contingent’s final preparations, before joining their 60 Australian teammates to compete on the world stage.
NSW Police has a long association with the Special Olympics and raise a substantial amount of money for the organisation every year, mainly through a salary deduction of about $1 a week.
“They raise about $120,000 a year from that activity for us which is fantastic,” says club chairman Rex Langthorne. “We have a great association with the police.
“The police forces across the world run the Special Olympics Torch, called the law enforcement torch. We refer to it as the flame of hope.”
Supt Sharkey says the NSW Police is proud to play such an important role in the Special Olympics movement.
With family and supporters watching on proudly at the presentation, the Olympians spoke of their love of sport and the importance in their lives of being able to train, compete, and now to represent Australia.
“As we’ve heard from these athletes, being able to showcase their sporting talents is just one of the many benefits their participation brings,” Supt Sharkey said at the presentation.
“It’s also about the friendships they make and the social interaction that comes from being part of the Special Olympics movement.”
In Australia, the Special Olympics began in 1976. It’s a year-round multi-sports program for people with an intellectual ability – of all capabilities – who have access to robust competition pathways including the World Games, hosted in a four-year cycle in summer and winter sports.
The four Northern Beaches athletes competing in 2023 won gold medals at the National Games in Tasmania last year, and were subsequently selected to compete at the Special Olympics this year.
“It’s great that we’ve got four athletes from the Northern Beaches participating in a team of 64 from across Australia,” Mr Langthorne says.
By Aoife Moynihan