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- By Head-knocked Nick
Who likes sports shorts? For those who like their sports brief – to the point, that is, not unnecessarily revealing! – we have a few short shots to share. If you think we’re not playing fair, and other teams deserve a mention, email editor@franklintimes.co.nz and he’ll look into them… the teams that is, not their shorts.
Amazing Grace…
Forget lions and tigers and bears (oh, my!), the recent Unified Schools basketball competition saw the fearsome Go Go Bananas go toe-to-toe with the rip-roaring Red Rockets.
In the inaugural competition, six students from Pukekohe’s Parkside Specialist School teamed up with young athletes from Onewhero Area School, Pukekohe High School and Tuakau College.
While the Go Gos won 30–10, proving a banana skin team for the Rockets, the real victory came through seeing young people with and without intellectual disabilities competing together.
“This is something I wish I’d had when I was younger,” says Special Olympian, Grace Payne. “I wanted to introduce the Unified Schools [programme] to New Zealand because I wanted inclusion to be normalised earlier in life. The earlier young people experience inclusion, the more natural it becomes.”
A successful Special Olympics powerlifter and basketball player, Payne (from Waiuku) has become a determined advocate for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
“There were plenty of challenges along the way, but every step brought us closer to seeing students encouraging each other, celebrating together and simply enjoying being part of the same team,” she adds.
“I hope this is just the beginning and that schools across New Zealand will have the opportunity to be part of Unified Schools.”
See specialolympics.org for more information about Unified Schools.
Not short on support
It’s time to stick a fork in it and turn it over, sports fans – the Sal’s NBL is done for another season… well, it may as well be! Despite some valiant efforts, our Franklin Bulls could roar as loud as we’d have hoped, finishing ninth from 11.
Although this photo was taken earlier in the year when there was still hope their heroes would make the playoffs, Jensen (9) and Evie Fletcher (6) will be back in the stands next season at the Stockyard cheering them on.
For those who can’t get enough of basketball, there’s one more game to come. See nznbl.basketball for details of Sunday’s Grand Final between the Southland Sharks and Wellington Saints.
