Christchurch to host 2025 national Special Olympics
Ōtautahi - Christchurch has been awarded the hosting rights for the national 2025 Special Olympics summer games.
Around 1300 athletes will compete in 11 different sports including swimming, athletics, bowling, basketball and football. The Games will also provide selection opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities to attend the Special Olympics world summer games in 2027.
Christchurch City Council head of recreation, sports and events Nigel Cox says winning the bid for the Games is a great accomplishment for the city.
“We’re thrilled to be hosting the games and look forward to welcoming all the athletes, coaches and their supporters to our city in 2025.
“Hosting the event is a fantastic opportunity to showcase all that Ōtautahi has to offer, to promote the Special Olympics movement, and to inspire and support potential Special Olympians in our region,” Cox says.
Special Olympics New Zealand says that in addition to the 1300 athletes, 300 coaches and 600 volunteers from across the country will also attend the national summer games in Christchurch.
“We hope that bringing one of the biggest sporting events in New Zealand to Christchurch will be a big boost for the city and will showcase our athletes in the amazing new facilities that Christchurch has to offer,” says Special Olympics New Zealand chief executive Carolyn Young.
The council says the games will be held at a number of sporting facilities across the city, including Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub and Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre.
Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub is the region’s premier outdoor sports facility and will host the athletics and football competitions.
Currently under construction in the central CBD, Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre will be the largest aquatic and indoor recreation and leisure venue of its kind in Australasia.
Parakiore will host basketball and swimming competitions.
With so many sports facilities lost in the earthquakes, it has been more than 15 years since Ōtautahi last hosted the national summer games.
Lisa was born in Auckland at the start of the 1970s, living in a small campsite community on the North Shore called Browns Bay. She spent a significant part of her life with her grandparents, often hanging out at the beaches. Lisa has many happy memories from those days at Browns Bay beach, where fish were plentiful on the point and the ocean was rich in seaweed. She played in the water for hours, going home totally “sun-kissed.” “An adorable time to grow up,” Lisa tells me.
Lisa enjoyed many sports; she was a keen tennis player and netballer, playing in the top teams for her age right up until the family moved to Wellington. Lisa was fifteen years old, which unfortunately marked the end of her sporting career. Local teams were well established in Wellington, and her attention was drawn elsewhere.