A Special Olympics Football "Have-a-Go Day" was held in July 2024 at Trident High School in Whakatane.

WaiBOP Football Development Officer, Nat Broadhead, teamed up with Matt de Jardine from Special Olympics New Zealand to deliver the day, which involved around 40 students from the Tarawera High School and Trident High School Specialist Learning Centres.

The students  took part in four different adaptive football skills-based game stations, run by 14 mainstream school students from Trident High School.

The stations had games like "Red Light/Green Light" and "I can, can you?". There was also Football 10-pin bowling, and a goal shooting station.

The day finished with a football festival.

All of the participants received a football to take home with them, provided through the McDonald’s partnership with community football. 

Special Olympics

Special Olympics is a global organisation that serves athletes with intellectual disabilities working with hundreds of thousands of volunteers and coaches each year.

Since the establishment of Special Olympics in 1968, the number of people with and without intellectual disabilities who are involved with the organisation has been growing, but the unmet need to reach more people with intellectual disabilities is staggering. 

Learn More Here

Article added: Tuesday 13 August 2024