Special Olympics open

MURRAY WILSON/Manawatu Standard

PROUD: Manawatu's Special Olympics team brought the true spirit of sport and humanity to the opening ceremony of the National Summer Games at Arena Manawatu last night.

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There were high fives, cheers and fists in the air for the more than 1000 Special Olympics athletes on the path to empowerment last night.

The athletes had barely slept the night before from sheer excitement, but the energy levels in Arena Manawatu

for the opening ceremony of the 2009 Special Olympics National Summer Games were through the roof. The noise as the teams, along with 400 coaches and managers, entered the stadium was deafening.

Home team Manawatu brought down the house when they strode in green and proud.

Manawatu tenpin bowling coach Peter Huntingdon said all day the team had cheered and clapped whenever they saw an athlete involved in the games, no matter what team they belonged to.

The smallest team in the competition, Te Awamutu, might be lacking in numbers but not in supporters: they caused an uproar when they entered the stadium.

Tauranga set the competition levels high, coming up with a chant, "Mighty, mighty Tauranga".

It is the first time the event has been held in Palmerston North since 1990, and it has received huge support from the community, with 900 volunteers on board for the three-day competition.

In his opening speech, Special Olympics New Zealand chairman David Rutherford said that the event promoted human acceptance.

"The athletes are changing the world one attitude at a time. They will change attitudes in Manawatu over the next few days."

The excitement and energy will spread across the city over the next three days as athletes compete in 10 sports at 10 venues in Palmerston North and Feilding. The events include swimming, athletics, bowling, bocce, basketball, indoor bowls, equestrian, football, golf and powerlifting.

To qualify for the Special Olympics, which are for people with intellectual disabilities, athletes had to participate in ribbon, regional and national level competitions over the past four years.

The Summer and Winter Games for Special Olympics are not limited to elite athletes.

Special Olympics NZ aims to develop athletes who join the movement for life-long participation in sport, building confidence and esteem.

- © Fairfax NZ News