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BLIND SPORT NEW ZEALAND
SPOTLIGHT ON SPORT

August 2003
Issue 3

Welcome to another issue of Spotlight on Sport brought to you by Blind Sport New Zealand.

If there are any comments that you would like to make about this newsletter please feel free to contact Blind Sport at the contact details at the end of this newsletter. In this edition we have for you a report on our team that went to the Second World Blind Championships in Quebec, Canada and we also find out what has been going on around New Zealand. We touch on the world of politics relating to sport for the blind and we have a new column where the editor gives his thoughts on a few matters and much, much more so read on and enjoy.

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, BLIND SPORT NEW ZEALAND

To Member Groups and Individual Members:

NOTICE OF MEETING:

The Annual General Meeting of BLIND SPORT NEW ZEALAND Inc. will be held on Saturday 15 November 2003 at Awhina House Newmarket commencing at 10am.

NOTICES OF MOTION: In accordance with our Rules and Regulations which expands on Clause 9 of the Constitution, the closing date for Notices of Motion to alter the Constitution will be 21 September 2003. This gives the Constitution Review Committee time to assess the motion and make a recommendation to members no less than four weeks prior to the AGM.

REPORTS: from Member Groups will be due prior to October 12, 2003 to enable them to be circulated prior to the AGM.

Nominations called for the following positions up for election/re-election this year.

Vice President (currently held by Murray Peat)

Secretary to Executive Committee (currently held by Neil Fellows)

One general member Executive Committee (currently held by Dale Deane)

Nominations close on 12 October 2003

Please note this notice along with nomination forms has been sent to each member group and to all individual members of Blind Sport New Zealand. Should you require additional forms or more information please do not hesitate to contact Blind Sport New Zealand.

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INTERNATIONAL REPORT

KIWIS TAKE ON THE WORLD IN QUEBEC

In late July a small team set off from New Zealand to take part in the Second World Blind Championships in Quebec Canada. This team included Mark Symon (athletics), Daniel Sharp (swimming), Peter Sharp (Daniel's father) and Ray McLeod (team captain and BSNZ Executive Officer).

These championships involved some 1360 participants from 63 countries.

Competing for the first time at an international meet, Daniel won a silver medal in the 200m freestyle, and the next day, won bronze in the 400m freestyle in a time of 4.59.97, beating his previous personal best time by an amazing 16 seconds.

Daniel also finished fourth in the 100m breast stroke.
Daniel's bronze in the 400m freestyle is all the more incredible because it is not his favoured event. Until now, Daniel has concentrated on the shorter races.
Following on from these events Daniel made the final of the 50m freestyle and again swam a brilliant race and won bronze for New Zealand.
Daniel was completely unknown before these championships, and so was not rated as a medal prospect.

At the athletics competition, many races were plagued by wind and rain, affecting the results.
Mark Symon achieved his goal of finishing in the top eight of the 400m by placing fifth in the final, and also finished 11th overall in the 200m. Mark also competed in the 100m event and did not make the final.

The success of our team has once again shown that New Zealand can produce athletes that can take on the best in the world and be successful. We are absolutely certain both Mark and Daniel will learn from this experience and be even better next time.

Our thanks go to The Lion Foundation and Team McMillan Ltd for their generous support of the team.

At the end of this newsletter you will find two press releases from Blind Sport New Zealand which have attracted interest from both local media and MPs. On behalf of the team thank you to everyone who sent messages of support through to the team as these were very much appreciated.

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VISION IMPAIRED GAMES FOLLOW UP

Blind Sport New Zealand has received from the Foundation of the Blind a list of families who have consented for their children to be contacted by Blind Sport. It is our hope that we can encourage and support these young people to take up regular physical activities and to continue to develop in their chosen sport. Who knows how many other medal winning prospects there are out there.

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ROTORUA BLIND SPORTS EVENT FOLLOW UP

Over queen's Birthday in Rotorua teams gathered to participate in Indoor Cricket and Goalball. There was also a demonstration of Blind Hockey which was very popular.

The Indoor Cricket was won by the Auckland Cockroaches Team who defeated Waikato in the final. The Auckland Cockroaches also won the Goalball by defeating Rotorua in the final.

Carey Hammond is to be congratulated for the work he put in to make this weekend such a success. It is also pleasing to see Cricket, Goalball and Hockey working together to put on this multisport event.

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SPORT AND POLITICS

Representatives of Blind Sport New Zealand recently met with the SPARC appointed contractor who is undertaking a review of the No exceptions Policy which is a Government initiative to get more disabled persons into sport and recreation. Blind Sport strongly expressed the view that the policy has been a failure. We expressed the view that Blind Sport New Zealand is the only organization with the will and mandate to oversee sport for the blind and vision impaired.
It is our belief that athletes with a sensory disability have always been the poor cousins to those with a physical disability and this is especially so in the area of funding.
Some may argue that Parafed can support the needs of blind and vision impaired athletes but in our experience they have shown interest in those with medal winning potential and have disregarded the rest. Blind Sport New Zealand believes that ALL blind and vision impaired sports people should be entitled to support and we will continue to argue in this regard.
Blind Sport New Zealand is still in discussions with SPARC to secure funding for the calendar year ahead. This has been a long and challenging process and although nothing is certain we are increasingly positive about our funding being rolled over for another year.
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ITEM FROM GOALBALL NEW ZEALAND

Hello Fellow Sports Folk.

Goalball New Zealand has had a pretty full on first half of 2003, with many tournaments, and local competitions being played around the country.
Our national championships were held in March this year, and was brilliantly hosted by the Wellington club. Canterbury were the eventual winners, though there are a number of rising stars in the Wellington team, which should make the next Nationals even more exciting and enjoyable. Thanks to all players, officials and organisers for a great weekend.

GNZ also sent a team over to the Australian championships early in June. This was a most valuable trip, with all members of the squad, players, coaches and officials all having a very exciting time. Though no games were won, we did our country and sport proud for our first foray into the international arena. We should start to see the benefits of the tour flowing through to all players around the country as what was learnt is shared over the coming months.

A tournament was held in Rotorua in late May, in combination with Blind cricket and as usual was well attended by players throughout the North Island. A great weekend of sport was had, and thanks go out to the Rotorua folk who as usual put on a great event.

Down here in Canterbury we have been meeting once a week for training and a few social games, with 2 new regular members and a couple more in the wings.
Though the hall has been pretty cold on some nights, throwing yourself around on an unpolished floor soon warms you up. We are not as fit as we were earlier on in the year, when we were training a bit harder for the nationals and some of us for the New Zealand Team's trip to Canberra, so we are really looking forward to Wellington coming down to take us on for the clash of the provinces in September. A few more star jumps and push-ups needed before then I think.

South Auckland has been meeting regularly on Wednesday afternoons and Jason Griffiths informs me that all is going well with the regular attendees. I also hear that an evening was held in July for those in Central Auckland where Dennis Wells introduced a few new people to our great sport.

Wellington have been meeting as well, and will be trucking down to Christchurch in September for the clash of the provinces competition, that includes many sports that the two provinces compete in. It will also be the clash of the ages, with the young and eager Wellington players taking on the ever so slightly older members of the Canterbury squad - bring it on!

All in all it has been a pretty full on first half of the year, and there is still plenty more competition coming up over the next few months, so why not give it a go if you have not up till now. Feel free to contact your local Sports and Rec officer if you would like to find out when the next meeting Is in your area, or drop us a line at goalball@paradise.net.nz.

Happy Goalballing to you all.
Regards
Darryl Sherwood
GNZ Publicity Officer.

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EDITOR'S COLUMN

GOING BACK IS NOT AN OPTION

By Murray Peat

Blind Sport New Zealand was once just an organization that gave out funds to our member groups. Not much advocacy was done to various bodies and the organization did not go out of its way to seek individual members.

Now I want to tell you about the Blind Sport New Zealand of today.

We now have an organization that is involved in advocacy with both the Foundation and Government agencies. We are actively seeking individual members and we have just recently sent a New Zealand team to the second World Championships for blind and vision impaired athletes.

So why have we changed? The answer is simple, we need to change to survive. In this world of constant change we need to show our sponsors the Foundation of the Blind and SPARC that they are investing in an organization that is progressive.

There are also many opportunities out there for blind and vision impaired athletes to get involved in sport at every level.

Some have argued that Blind Sport exists primarily for its member groups and we should spend our time and energy developing these sports. It has also been suggested we forget our international connections and simply concentrate our efforts on these fair shores.

I beg to differ on both counts and I will tell you why.

Firstly, not everyone wants to participate in a current group sport. So what do we tell these people? Do we say sorry if you are not part of the establishment you are out in the cold. Of course we don't. People who wish to participate in non group sports have every right to request and receive support where appropriate and where resources allow.

With regard to international relations the need to have a strong voice representing blind and vision impaired athletes is now greater than ever. For some time the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) has had what can be best described as a "God complex" basically running roughshod over the rights of sensory and intellectually impaired athletes.

Also many of the countries in the Oceania area of IBSA (International Blind Sports Federation) are vastly under resourced in comparison with other regions. It is therefore necessary to advocate to IBSA for recognition of this situation and hopefully some equalization of resources.
So ultimately we have a choice. We can simply ignore what is happening in the world outside or we can become involved and add our voice to those who are seeking reforms. I am pleased to say Blind Sport has chosen to do the latter.

So we come to the title of this column which is going back is not an option and indeed this is true. Many sponsors these days want something for their money. These sponsors believe they are investing in sport and they expect outcomes. If you don't believe me then get involved and join with us when we spend many hours of advocacy with the Foundation and SPARC you will then see that these organizations have expectations and they expect targets to be achieved. If anyone thinks that Blind Sport will always be funded simply because this has always been done then you may be in for a rude surprise just ask those organizations including ours who SPARC has ceased funding for at the end of this calendar year.

It is fair to say that the direction that Blind Sport has taken has not always sat well with some of our members and in my view that has much to do with taking people out of their comfort zone. I think if one was to analyse the strategies and actions of this organization they would see that the overarching philosophy has been to increase our numbers and create opportunities for our members. It is my sincere hope that we can all agree this is in the best interests of our current and future members.

So where do we go from here. Well for Blind Sport its business as usual we carry on with our strategies and philosophies and we dare to think outside the square. Why shouldn't we have an organization that supports many different sports at every level. Why not send teams regularly overseas or host international competitions here. Who says we are too small, too busy or inadequately resourced to cope.

Whether we get to this stage only time will tell but at least we have to give it our best shot after all the members we represent both current and future deserve nothing less than this.

I invite each of you to join us as we look towards a future full of possibilities.

Finally, I would like to welcome any thoughts or comments that groups or individuals may have in regard to our current direction. We always welcome feedback from our members.

Disclaimer: The thoughts in this article are those of the Editor and are not necessarily those of Blind Sport New Zealand.

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The following item has been supplied by Blind Sailing New Zealand:

Junior Sailing School 2003

September 23 - 25 in Auckland

This course is open to selected visually impaired beginners and intermediate juniors aged 9 - 15 years.

This course is run with the assistance of the Ponsonby Sailing School and is sailed in optimist dinghies. This course is a popular event, which is always oversubscribed. The cost is $20 for the 3 days, which includes an annual membership to Blind Sailing NZ.

For further details contact
Don Mason on 09-479-3349

Or email info@sailingblind.org.nz

Numbers are limited.

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BLIND CRICKET NEWS

WAIKATO BLIND CRICKET TRIP TO AUSTRALIA

By Kaye Kay-Smith

The Waikato blind cricket club are in full swing organizing their trip to the Australian carnival to be held in Sydney from the 27th of December to the 11th of January next year.

A squad of 15 has been chosen, ranging from junior players to the more experienced senior citizens of the team. Fund raising is starting to gather momentum. The club held a successful quiz evening on the 19th of July, raising around 300 dollars. Barbecues are being run, as well as the usual knocking on doors. In April a training camp was held in Hamilton and from this a New Zealand team was picked to play 4 one day tests against Australia. These will be played after the carnival, starting on the 14th of January.

The weather has not been very conducive to much practice lately, but hopefully it will pick up soon.

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Local groups

Blind Sport supports a number of group sports for the blind and vision impaired in New Zealand. These sports include cricket, fishing, goalball, golf, hockey, indoor bowls, lawn bowls and sailing. If you would like information on these sports then please contact Blind Sport.

Many of these sports have opportunities for competition at a local, national or international level or if you just love the game or sport then you will also find a place among friends. Sports for individuals

Blind Sport also supports sports for the individuals out there who would like to participate in the likes of athletics, swimming, judo, power lifting and many others besides. If you would like to find out more information please contact Blind Sport.

Once again you can compete locally or if you would like to take up the challenge there are many international events and opportunities waiting for you.

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Our Website

If you have access to the Internet why not take a look at our Website at www.blindsport.org.nz this site is packed full of interesting information, photos and contact information for all the sports we support.

Our sportsline

By using the Foundation for the Blind's Telephone Information Service Blind Sport has provided a place where you can listen to what blind sports people are up to and also have your say on our interactive service. If you would like to check it out please take option 5 2 from the main menu. If you would like to know about the Telephone Information Service then please contact the Foundation for the Blind directly on 0800 24 33 33.

The Foundation's Recreation Service

The Foundation for the Blind provides a recreation service to assist Foundation members become more involved with recreation. This often involves local groups and activities and can help people with fitness advice and rehabilitation where necessary. If you would like to find out where your local Recreation Officer is based please phone the Foundation of the Blind - toll free on 0800 24 33 33.

MEDIA RELEASES FROM BLIND SPORT NEW ZEALAND

Media Release

16 July 2003

For immediate release

Going for Gold -
Blind athletes aim for top honours at World Blind Championships

An incredible and heartening display of talent and courage will be shown next month by blind and vision impaired athletes, many of whom are among the elite in their chosen sport. From 1-12 August 2003, Canada is hosting the second International Blind Sport Federation (ISBA) World Championship and Games in Quebec city.

The Games attract close to 1,325 participants from over 50 countries, giving them the chance to defend currently held records in six disciplines that include track and field, swimming, judo, goal ball and tandem cycling.

Blind Sport New Zealand, in their continued efforts to support and provide opportunities for blind athletes, is assisting two young New Zealanders in their bid to compete for top awards in Canada this year.

Hawkes Bay's Mark Symon, a 21 year old sprinter, has been training for the event for the past seven months.

"I've looked at some of my competition and I think I've got a good chance at coming out in the top eight."

Mark was born with normal vision, although he wore glasses while he was at school. Over time, his sight deteriorated until he woke up one morning five years ago to discover he had burred central vision.

Despite his vision-impairment, Mark has competed successfully at similar events in Australia and was the overall winner at the RNZFB's Vision Impaired Games in Hamilton in 1999.

"I've always been into sport, even as a kid. Sprinting is great, even though the training is quite intensive."

Mark's training program includes power, speed and strength training. He lifts heavy weights, runs up flights of stairs and has his coach time his sprints as he tests himself against the clock.

"I've been with Blind Sport for two years. I'm looking forward to doing really well in Canada."

Daniel Sharp, a fifth former at Avondale College is hoping to qualify for next year's Paralympics in Athens and will be competing in five swimming events at the ISBA games.

"I've been training for about an hour and forty five minutes, five times a week since I found out about going to Canada at the beginning of the year."

Daniel 'got pretty good' at swimming while he was a member of the Kelston Aquatic Squad.

"Mum enrolled me in as many different sporting activities as she could when I was younger." Daniel says,"I guess I just really took to swimming".

Voted the best overall sportsman at this year's RNZFB Vision Impaired Games, Daniel was also a gold and bronze medallist at the Blind Federation Games held in Australia in 1998.

Daniel has an eye condition called Stargardts Syndrome which means he only has 3/60 vision. This means what most people can see at 60 metres, he can only see at three metres.

Traveling with Mark and Daniel are Blind Sport New Zealand's executive officer Ray McLeod and Daniel's father Peter, both of whom will act as sighted guides.

Blind Sport New Zealand is the national governing body for blind sport and one of the founding members of the International Blind Sports Federation in Oceania.

The organisation works closely with its members, making sure that they are given the opportunity to compete in national and international sporting competitions, including the Paralympics.

Being a sports person often means possessing a great deal of talent, dedication and a drive to excel.

Having the courage to over come the difficulty of being not being able to see the finishing line, makes vision impaired athletes unique in the contributions that they bring to the world of sport, both in New Zealand and overseas.

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Media Release

12 August 2003

For immediate release

New Zealand athlete wins medals at World Blind Championships

Fifteen-year-old swimmer Daniel Sharp has won two medals at the International Blind Sports (ISBA) Federation World Championships held in Quebec, Canada over the last two weeks.

Competing for the first time at an international meet, Daniel won a silver medal in the 200m freestyle, and the next day, won bronze in the 400m freestyle in a time of 4.59.97, beating his previous personal best time by an amazing 16 seconds.

Daniel's bronze in the 400m freestyle is all the more incredible because it is not his favoured event. Until now, Daniel has concentrated on the shorter races.

Ray McLeod, team captain and chief executive of Blind Sport New Zealand, reports that Daniel has had a lot of attention from other teams and coaches.

"Daniel was completely unknown before these championships, and so was not rated as a medal prospect."

"However, that's all changed, especially after Daniel shaved his head to improve his times, and added temporary tattoos of New Zealand a silver fern to his scalp!", says Ray.

At the athletics competition, many races have been plagued by wind and rain, affecting the results.

Mark Symon achieved his goal of finishing in the top eight of the 400m by placing fifth in the final, and also finished 11th overall in the 200m.

Blind Sport New Zealand is thrilled at the results achieved at the ISBA Games and is looking forward to these two athletes continuing to represent themselves and their country at this elite level.

The International Blind Sport Federation (ISBA) World Championship and Games in Quebec city attract close to 1,325 participants from over 50 countries, giving them the chance to defend currently held records in six disciplines that include track and field, swimming, judo, goal ball and tandem cycling.

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HOW TO CONTACT US

If you would like to get involved with Blind Sport or simply want to find out more information please contact us by any of the following methods:

Blind Sport New Zealand
Private Bag 99 802
Newmarket
Auckland
Phone: 09 275 1635
Email: sport@blindsport.org.nz

Web: www.blindsport.org.nz
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Our thanks to the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind and SPARC for their ongoing support.
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