Olympics_84422_103.jpg: Narre Warren bowler Nicholas Dall, 13, was one of the youngest members of his Special Olympics team.
By Russell Bennett
IT WASN’T just an Olympic flame that lit up the bleak Pakenham sky on Saturday morning, it was the beaming smiles of hundreds of athletes’ faces.
Just as the London Olympics opening ceremony was drawing to a close, a host of Victorian athletes converged on Pakenham to compete in their own games – the state’s Special Olympics.
Competitors from a dozen Victorian regions joined a squad from South Australia to brave the cold at Cardinia LiFE’s stadium for the opening ceremony.
The games celebrated athletes with an intellectual disability, as they competed in gymnastics, bowling and basketball competitions held at Narre Warren, Dandenong and Pakenham.
A police helicopter landed on the nearby Toomuc Recreation Reserve soon after 10am, dropping off the Special Olympics torch, which was carried inside the stadium for Police Commissioner Ken Lay to light the flame – signifying the official start of the weekend’s games.
Athletes from the Barwon, Ballarat, Dandenong Valley, Echuca Campaspe, Gippsland, Melbourne Eastern Ranges, Melbourne Inner East, Melbourne North, Melbourne Southern, Ovens and Murray and Mildura regions stood tall next to the South Australian team on centre court in front of a large waiting crowd as Mr Lay officially declared the games ‘open’.
Special Olympics Victoria’s state manager Kevin O’Byrne congratulated the more than 300 who made it to the games.
“It’s a tremendous achievement for these athletes to be selected to represent their local region at our state games each year,” he said.
“They’re here to have fun but once they cross that white line, it’s on”.
Dandenong Valley athlete Tarnya Hardy, 38, from Narre Warren, competed at the games as a tenpin bowler.
She has been competing as an athlete since 1991.
Ms Hardy knocked over a whopping 223 pins in her best bowling game and she averages 145 per game.
She has amassed more than 100 medals over her athletic journey so far.
But her love of bowling extends beyond simply competing. It’s a social activity that introduces her to a range of new friends.
Ms Hardy’s mother, Lorraine, said it provided a way for her daughter “to get out and about, away from the isolation that she would sometimes feel at home”.
The next Victorian state Special Olympics will be in Gippsland on 17 and 18 November.
Sports will include cricket, tennis, athletics and sailing.
The Dandenong Valley Special Olympics region is always on the lookout for more athletes.
For more information, call team manager Jackie Reid on 0450 124 500.
