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Vol. 18 No. 11
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Wednesday, September 9, 2015
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All-abilities welcome T
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BY DEAN LAWSON
he Wimmera is set to consolidate its reputation for supporting people with disabilities later this year when Horsham presents the Tri State Games.
The region’s disability-support network has rallied behind Rotary Club of Horsham East, which will host the games in November this year and again in 2016. The Tri State Games, which started in Mildura in 1986, is a week-long sporting carnival featuring about 250 to 300 ‘all abilities’ athletes from disability-support organisations throughout Victoria, southern NSW and South Australia. The carnival was last in the region in 2009 and 2010 when athletes gathered in Stawell and Ararat. In the past two years it was in Murray Bridge, SA, and before that Adelaide Hills. This year’s Horsham games will be from November 9 to 13 and feature a variety of events including team sports such as football, soccer, netball and lawn bowls, track and field, and indoor competitions. The Wimmera has a long history of providing special support events for people with disabilities. In the past it has concentrated considerable attention to Horsham’s Awakenings performing arts festival, which has scaled back, and this year was part of the Wimmera city’s Art Is... festival. Rotary Club of Horsham East rep-
GAME-READY: Horsham Rockets team-mates Tom Leembruggen, left, and Andrew Lang. Picture: KELLY LAIRD resentative Jenny Reid, a strong advocate for the games to return to the Wimmera, said the carnival rekindled a regional desire to provide something special for all-abilities athletes. She said offering to host the games was born from an approach to the Rotary club by a Horsham all-abilities Rockets team for sponsorship. “We were happy to do that and I
then asked them to come and present to the club and the thought after was ‘why can’t we host this?’ and here we are,” she said. The Rotary club has set aside $15,000 to run the event. It has also received a $5000 Horsham Rural City Council community grant and $2000 from Horsham Apex Club 15 for medals and trophies.
Australian Paralympic cyclist Stuart Tripp is event patron and Australian Paralympic swimmer Ahmed Kelly is event ambassador. The carnival will start with an informal Sunday barbecue dinner at Sawyer Park Soundshell on November 9. It will include an official launch by Tri State Games chairman Sean Hames after a street parade.
In a major coup for organisers, the opening will also include a fly-over by the RAAF Roulettes precision flying team. “This is all about providing experiences for the athletes and making it the very best games we can for them,” Ms Reid said. “It’s about giving people an opportunity to come together for a week to perform as athletes. In that week everyone is an athlete without any other labels.” Organisers have throughout the years fine-tuned an assessment process that allows athletes to compete on relatively even levels. “From the Wimmera and Horsham’s point of view, it is also about tapping into the region’s ability to be an outstanding social citizen. It’s about promoting the concept of good-will, fellowship, and importantly, inclusiveness through the all-abilities concept,” Ms Reid said. “To be quite honest, it’s quite humbling to be part of it all and what we need now is the Wimmera to embrace the idea. “We need volunteers of course, but we also need people to come along and be spectators to cheer and get involved.” The games will include themed entertainment nights and conclude on November 13, with an official presentation dinner. People keen to get involved can call Jenny Reid on 0418 146 846.
IN THIS ISSUE • Broad supports China Free-Trade • Pathways to Harrow • War exhibition at Ararat Read it online: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au Phone: 03 5382 1351
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