dsport is proud to announce it has three finalists named in the 2019 Wellington Sportsperson of the Year Awards.
Kate Horan (Paralympian) and Corran Hanning have both been named in the Disabled Sportsperson Award.
Catriona McBean has been named as a finalist for the prestigous Trish McKelvey Leadership Award.
dsport will host Deepa Malik, India’s first female Paralympic medallist and Sir Edmund Hillary Fellow, in Wellington on Wednesday 8 May.
Deepa won silver medal in the women's shotput F53 event at the Rio Paralympics in 2016 as well as 58 national and 23 international medals. A recipient of the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award, she has entered the Limca Book of World Records four times.
Deepa is in New Zealand this week taking the opportunity to meet Paralympians and para athletes and while in Wellington will spend time with members of the dsport Youth Group at Wellington College.
“For dsport, hosting Deepa Malik, so recently after we have rebranded is a wonderful opportunity to showcase what we are doing especially in our youth space. Our vision is for Wellington to be a diverse and inclusive region. We are achieving this through inspiring, enabling and achieving.” said dsport Manager, Catriona McBean.
“dsport reflects our organisation’s passion for giving everybody, of every ability, the opportunity to reach their full potential. The name aligns with our mission; to support and grow the potential of children, families and the community via events, sport and connection.”
“We have a number of young para athletes who are commencing their sporting journey so meeting Paralympians such as Deepa will help reinforce there are pathways and successes to be had despite physical impairments. Providing positive role models for our young people is very important. We are fortunate to have an international role model in para athletics and women in leadership spending time with our young members on Wednesday” said McBean.
Alongside dsport is Wellington College who provided the venue for Deepa’s visit. Four dsport Youth Group members attend Wellington College, including Corran Hanning who in the last six months has set and broken a number of New Zealand Secondary School Para Athletics records and helped Wellington College team retain the McEvedy Shield this year, for the fifth consecutive year.
At the New Zealand Secondary School Championships in Dunedin in December 2018 Corran set Best Performances (the first time a record has been set) in the Shotput, Discus and Javelin in the F12 classification. F12 classification refers to field athletes with a vision impairment.
At the North Island Secondary School Championships in Tauranga in April 2019 Corran broke 3 F12 records in Shotput, Discus and Javelin and set a Best Performance in the Hammer Throw.
Wellington College Principal, Gregor Fountain said “We are delighted to partner with dsport to host Deepa Malik. This is a great opportunity for our students to meet a high performing female athlete and deepen their understanding of community, leadership, diversity and excellence. Our students deeply benefit from dsport’s sport programmes. The aim of Deepa's visit is to inspire all of our students to be positive influencers in the communities that they are part of.”
Deepa will be welcomed with a Mihi Whakatau by students from the College’s te reo classes followed by morning tea. Deepa will then talk to a number of classes about her journey and then will join Corran and the other dsport Youth Group members for some shotput and discus training.
Congratulations to Corran Hanning and Jack Lewington who both broke records at the NZ Secondary Schools Athletics Association North Island Championships in the weekend in Tauranga.
Corran set 3 new national records
Jack set 2 national records
The future looks bright for both these athletes.
Thanks to the donation of $10,000 from the NZ Racing Board, Parafed Wellington has been able to purchase 4 new sets of boccia balls and 2 pieces of head gear from Handi Life Sport in Denmark and 3 new boccia ramps from Sumo in Poland.
The boccia balls have arrived and we are just awaiting the delivery of the ramps before the end of the year.
Today Paralympics NZ announce the retirement of Rio 2016 and London 2012 Paralympic Games gold medallist Mary Fisher - Paralympic Swimmer from the sport of Para swimming to focus on further adventures.
The Wellington-based Paralympian who has trained twice daily for over 10 years has also followed passions outside of the pool and is well known for her work as an advocate around disability and environmental issues, and for her support of developing Para swimmers and mentoring of youth with vision impairment and their families.
Mary is an incredible person and an amazing Paralympian. We thank Mary for all of her inspirational performances and ongoing professionalism both within and out of Para swimming. We look forward to seeking ways of continuing to involve Mary within the Paralympic Family and wish her all the best for her future endeavours!
Rio 2016 and London 2012 Paralympic Games gold medallist Mary Fisher has today announced she will be retiring from the sport of Para swimming to focus on further adventures. Fisher’s breakout performance came at the London 2012 Paralympic Games; setting a world record and winning 4 medals - gold, 2 silver and a bronze. She then went on to set another world record and win gold in Rio 2016.
This stellar career began quietly at the age of nine when Fisher first took up competitive swimming in Upper Hutt. She enjoyed the independence that the water and sport gave her. She made her international debut in Australia in 2007 and this was followed by a plethora of World and Pan Pacific Championship medals.
The Wellington-based Paralympian who has trained twice daily for over 10 years has also followed passions outside of the pool. Fisher is well known for her work as an advocate around disability and environmental issues, and for her support of developing Para swimmers and mentoring of youth with vision impairment and their families. She is now a part-time Volunteer & Recreation Coordinator at the Blind Foundation. Distance study through Massey University enabled her to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree supported by a High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) Prime Minister’s Scholarship. Fisher is currently undertaking postgraduate psychology papers and learning Te Reo Māori and enjoys community music and is a regular with the Glamaphones and Wellington Community Choir.
Fisher said: “My dream goal as a nine-year-old was to represent New Zealand at the Paralympics. Competing in high performance Para swimming means relentless training which I’ve loved and wholeheartedly committed to. It also needs immaculate dedication and an internal spark to ensure every decision will have the best performance outcome. Racing at multiple Games, sharing the highs and lows with teammates and gaining understanding of my mind and body has given me perspective on life that I never expected. I’m fully content with my swimming career. But eking hundredths of a second from a race isn’t enjoyable or satisfying anymore. I thrive on researching each component of a situation, so I’ve taken time in making sure stepping away from racing is the right decision. But I’ll always be a swimmer of some description. I think being around water, listening to the ambitions and challenges young people tell me of, exploring Aotearoa and what it means to be Kiwi will be constants throughout my life.”
Fisher recently competed at the Swimming New Zealand Short Course Championships and was excited by the calibre and number of Para swimmers at the event. She said: “London epitomised my childhood dream. Support from thousands got me there, especially my family and friends who I thank from the bottom of my heart. The privilege and honour of representing my country for over a decade isn’t lost on me. Everyone deserves equitable opportunities. I’m keen to be part of melting the stigma attached to many forms of disability. Meeting people who get involved in Para sport and the resulting improvement in holistic health for themselves, their whānau and community is wonderful. I’ll be watching emerging athletes in these exciting times for New Zealand’s Para sport scene. ”
Malcolm Humm (High Performance Director, Paralympics New Zealand) said: “We have been working with Mary for quite some time to support her with this difficult decision and seeking to assist Mary in looking at what comes next. Mary is an incredible person and an amazing Paralympian. We thank Mary for all of her inspirational performances and ongoing professionalism both within and out of Para swimming. We look forward to seeking ways of continuing to involve Mary within the Paralympic Family and wish her all the best for her future endeavours.”
Fisher was a key member of the New Zealand Paralympic Team that produced performances in Rio making it the country’s most successful Paralympic Games ever. The New Zealand Paralympic Team secured a stunning 21 medals across 12 individual medallists – 9 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze. Overall, the Team placed 13 out of 159 on the medal table, its highest placing ever, and defended its title of number 1 in the world for medals per capita won during London 2012.
Josh Tia was told by doctors he could keep playing sport but would have to lose his left leg.
The 12-year-old was last year given the choice of amputation or the prospect of never playing basketball or rugby again.
'"I went to the limb centre and they said if you get your leg chopped off, you will be able to play rugby, basketball and stuff," he said.
Check out more on Josh's story at
www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/aims-games/107011620/the-12yearold-basketball-star-with-one-leg-inspiring-his-teammates-at-aims-games.
The Hugo Charitable Trust have donated $15,000 for the Youth Group. This donation, and the ongoing support of our other funders of the Youth Group, means 2019 will be even more exciting and fun filled than 2018.
Without this fabulous support from our funders, we would not be able to deliver the Youth Group and achieve all the amazing outcomes this group including providing new experiences, enhancing the skills of our young members, and seeing the confidence and independence of our members grow and develop.
Paralympian Kate Horan has been appointed to the New Zealand Artificial Limb Service Board for three years.
Kate who has represented New Zealand in Para athletics, winning a Silver at the Beijing Paralympics and now in Para cycling, said “I am delighted to accept this appointment onto the Board. As an amputee myself, I am fully aware of the importance of the Service and how it provides life changing prosthetics to New Zealanders.”
Kate was born with a congenital leg deformity which resulted in her lower left leg being amputated at the age of 5. Despite this, Kate has excelled in sport and continues to train towards representing New Zealand at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
In addition to this Board role, Kate works part-time for Parafed Wellington as Sport Coordinator providing sport and recreation opportunities for young people with physical disabilities.
“Working with young people with disabilities resonates with me personally having experienced a similar journey myself. Being able to give back in a variety of ways, such as sitting on the Board, means I am able to make a difference to others lives. I see bringing my story to the Board role will provide a real context in the decision-making around this Service. I look forward to working with the Chair George Reedy and the other Board members, and CEO Sean Gray.”
The Board’s first meeting with Kate in attendance is next week, so she is literally jumping in with two feet.
Last night Parafed Wellington was named Runner-Up in Inaugural Accessiblity Awards 2018 for the Customer Service category. This category recognises businesses, initiatives and people who help to make Wellington more accessible.
Kate was awarded this trophy at the Wellington Sports Awards in June. Unfortunately Kate was the guest speaker at the Wairarapa Sports Awards on the same evening, so was unable to attend the Wellington awards ceremony. Catriona McBean was pleased to accept on her behalf.
