Athletes to compete at Special Olympics National Games
Twenty Northern Beaches athletes will represent the area in this year’s Special Olympics National Games in Melbourne in October, competing in a variety of sports including swimming, basketball, tennis, tenpin bowling and golf.
This year marks 50 years since the Special Olympics’ first ever event in Australia.
Having been on the Beaches since the 1980s, the Special Olympics is committed to creating a more inclusive world for people with intellectual disability. Through Olympic-style sports, athletes train and compete with a focus on skill development, goal setting and a sense of belonging.
Rex Langthorne, chair of Special Olympics Sydney Northern Beaches and national golf coordinator, says that the event is all about ‘people having the opportunity to demonstrate what they can do.’
“We give them that opportunity through sport,” he says.
Special Olympics also has a young athletes program, but Rex says most athletes are post-school age.
To support athlete participation in events such as the National Games, fundraising events are run, including Bunnings barbeques and an annual charity golf day at Long Reef Golf Club.
Special Olympics Sydney Northern Beaches athletes with the Flame of Hope
In August, the Sydney Northern Beaches branch held a polar plunge at Dee Why Rock Pool to raise funds to help with the cost of athlete uniforms and travel to Melbourne.
Several local police officers took part, forming part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which Rex explains is an initiative where ‘law enforcement agencies raise money for Special Olympics.’
“They always run our torch, the Flame of Hope. When we have the National Games, for instance, the torch will be run at the opening ceremony (in Melbourne) and they’ll be run by police officers from across the country,” Rex says. “That’s a worldwide activity that’s been going for a number of years.”
By placing athletes into teams of equal ability, Special Olympics ‘gives everyone a chance to be a winner.’
“That’s how we differentiate ourselves from mainstream sport,” Rex says. “We’re about participation, we’re about giving everyone that opportunity to be a winner.”
Special Olympics also runs an athlete leadership program, enabling athletes with intellectual disabilities to participate beyond the pitch in leadership roles.
“We coach them in areas such as doing presentations, in becoming a member of a committee or as an assistant coach,” Rex says.
He adds that Special Olympics athletes interact with other sporting clubs on the Northern Beaches.
“A couple of boys, for instance, that I’ve coached are now members of the golf club at Long Reef and play regularly with the members down there,” he says.
“The members love them. One of them went to the last World Games in golf and won a medal. They’ve got his photo with his medal up in the clubhouse.”
“That’s the sort of thing that happens not only in our club, but throughout the country,” he adds.
Rex hopes that the Sydney Northern Beaches branch is able to expand its reach for years to come.
“We’d love to grow and expand the number of people that are involved in our program,” he says.
“Part of the challenge for us is to get more coaches and secure more access to facilities to enable us to give that opportunity to many more people in the community.”
