New Zealand’s trailblazing Unified basketball team at the Special Olympics World Games have been creating sporting magic as players with and without a disability combined forces.
The Kiwis have been rocking the iconic Alexanderplatz in Berlin in the 3×3 format as the first team from New Zealand to compete in a Unified competition.
The New Zealand squad comprised of Special Olympics athletes Laura Montgomery (Hutt Valley), Nathan Winkelman (Canterbury) and Hayden Wilson (Manawatu), as well as mainstream players Reuben Tearle and Jazmyn McGregor, both from Counties.
McGregor feels proud to be part of the foundation of the unified sport in New Zealand.
“Unified is a partnership between mainstream and special needs sports to create an environment where everyone can enjoy the sport for the love of it and everyone can be included,” says the player from the Franklin basketball club who have been trailblazers in the unified sports.
“I have only met these guys three times before we came to Germany but they are like family already. I wouldn’t want any other team mates.”
Head Coach Simone Kokaua from Waikato sees unified sports as the future of the game and says the mainstream athletes learn as much from players with special needs, as the Special Olympics players learn from their mainstream team-mates.
“We are lucky with our two unified players and the knowledge that they bring to the team and share with the athletes and the growth in the team has been huge.”
Nathan Winkelman says he really enjoys playing with his mainstream partners.
“It’s great to have them in the team. They help you with basketball skills, so you become a better basketball player,” says the Special Olympics athlete who competes both in basketball and in swimming back in New Zealand and is a major asset on the court with his 1.98m height.
“I do think I’ve got a lot better because of their help, like in rebounds and trying to find space.”
McGregor can’t stop talking about her Unified experience and says it has opened so many new doors for her.
“You’d never think a little Kiwi girl like me would come all the way over here to Germany to play sport,” says the Franklin player.
“The World Summer Games are definitely bigger than I expected. I could never have imagined how insane this all is. The opening ceremony alone, I could never have dreamt to be in that situation.”
Coach Kokaua says that true inclusion is not for players with a disability to be allowed to play with mainstream players, “but true inclusion is for unified partners to come into our world, and find out what those players are all about”.
She admits that the combined approach has its own challenges, especially the different ways Special Olympics learn new skills and how the unified partners can teach their team-mates.
In Berlin, it was plain to see how well respected the two unified players are within the team, as the team-mates would regularly huddle around McGregor and Tearle to pick up a few pointers.
New Zealand opened their tournament with wins over Romania, Austria and the USA. They then lost to Namibia and to Brazil on the buzzer.
In the finals pool, the Kiwis overcame that loss to win against Brazil, but suffered a narrow loss to hosts Germany, before running out of steam against Kenya.
After Germany again had the edge in the semi-final, the Kiwis played in the bronze medal match against Kenya. New Zealand put up a huge performance in front of many of the delegation and were leading 14-13 with 30secs left only for the Africans to pip them at on the buzzer, 14-15.
The team’s Waikato based coach says that the team’s results have been outstanding, but more importantly how quickly the team has improved.
“We are here to be the pioneers and founders of Unified sport in basketball and we hope this will continue moving forward.”
McGregor agrees that Unified sport is the future of Special Olympics.
“So we need to get our numbers up, girls, boys, special needs, everyone. It is just amazing to be part of something that everybody loves.
“There are so many opportunities, like being here in Germany.
There are some great players here, mainstream and Special Olympics, so if you want a good game, just jump in.”
Recent Comments