The ParaFed Otago AGM will be held on Monday 23 September 2019 starting at 5.30pm at the offices of Sport Otago, 40 Logan Park Drive, Dunedin North.

Kelsey will make a short presentation highlighting the major successes of the year. There will also be the election of the committee and the presentation of the annual report and annual finances. All members and supporters are welcome to attend. For catering purposes it would be appreciated if you could RSVP to Kelsey at sdo@parafedotago.co.nz

We hope to see you there!

Check out our Term Three newsletter to find out about all the exciting things that have been happening at ParaFed Otago over the past few months and what we have coming up for the rest of the year!

Over the past few weeks a few of our members have traveled to Palmerston North and Wellington for Round 1 and 2 of the Wheelchair Rugby Championships (WRC). Like last year, our athletes combined with Christchurch to make two competing teams, with two of our members on each. Kelsey and Kirsty (one of our amazing volunteers and WCR coach) also traveled to these tournaments to learn to officiate. Round One: Palmerston North

Three of our members flew to Palmerston North on June 14 -16 for a weekend full of hard hits and big excitement. Each team played a total of six games over three days, the results of which decided the standings for Round Two of the tournament. Both teams played well, with Canterbury Black winning all of their games but one against Auckland.

Round Two: Wellington

On the weekend of 19-21 July four of our members traveled to Wellington to compete in the final round of WRC. After a few hiccups on the Friday morning everyone eventually made it to Wellington in one piece. Games started bright and early on Saturday morning with both teams playing four games in total over the weekend with Canterbury Black coming out with the silver after their final game on Sunday.

(Thanks to Wayne Fisk and Marnie Scott for the photos)

The environments at these tournaments is amazing with a healthy dose of competition but also a huge feeling of camaraderie and acceptance from everyone. Overall, both tournaments were a great learning experience for everyone who attended with some considerable improvements from those who attending last year.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to Canterbury Wheelchair Rugby for taking us under your wing and allowing us to join your team.

The 2019 South Island Boccia Championships were held over the weekend of 13-14 July at St Hilda's College. There were a total of 15 competitors and 40 games played over the two days. It was awesome to have several players from Christchurch come to compete, as well as several local players. A great weekend was had by all with some very close games in the finals. Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time on the day and those who helped to organise the event, we couldn't have run such a successful event without you all.

And congratulations to everyone who competed! The final standings for each class are as follows:Individual BC1,2,4:

Gold - Ken McIntosh (Otago) Silver - Andrew Hocken (Canterbury) Bronze - Mark Anderson (Otago)

ParaFed Otago held their second annual Corporate Wheelchair Basketball Competition over the weekend. It was a huge success, with four teams from throughout Dunedin battling head to head for the top spot. There was some great competition on the day with a round robin format and a nail-biting final.

We would like to congratulate the ParaFed Otago team for taking out the gold, and the Southern Rehab, the Physio School, and the Otago Polytechnic OT teams for coming second, third, and fourth respectively.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended and helped out on the day, including the students from the PE School. Thank you also to the Edgar Centre for providing the courts, and to Otago Community Trust for all of your support. We couldn't run awesome events like this without all of your contributions! We look forward to the next one! Check out some of the awesome photos from the day below!

We had an awesome day on Saturday at ParaFed Otago's first every Teams Boccia competition.

Seven teams of two went head to head for the top spot with some very close and intense games being played. We would like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered their time to help out and to our funders, Otago Community Trust, New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) and The Lion Foundation, we couldn't have done it without you all! And CONGRATULATIONS to those who made the top three, with a nail-biting final between players from both the junior and senior boccia teams!

With the final standing being:

1st: Grumpy Old Men 2nd: The Lads 3rd: May The Fourth Be With You

We can't wait for the next one!

Check out our Term One newsletter to find out about all the exciting things that have been happening at ParaFed Otago over the past few months and what we have coming up in Term Two!

We are bringing back Volunteer of the Month for 2019! This month we would like to recognise Katie Owen for all of her efforts over the two years she volunteered for ParaFed Otago, as well as at the Halberg Games last year. Katie now has a full time position with ParaFed Auckland and we would like to wish her all the best, I am sure we will be seeing her around soon!How long did you volunteer for ParaFedOtago?

2 years (ish).

What sports or activities have you been involved with?

Snow Sports, Adaptive Sports Coaching and the 2018 Halberg Games.

What did you love about working with ParaFed Otago and their members?

I absolutely love seeing Parafed members grow through sport. There are moments of absolute gold when working with athletes to develop their skills and to play a part (no matter how big or small) in their enjoyment and success in sport is such a privilege.

What has been your own personal greatest achievement?

Securing a full-time role within the disability sport sector at Parafed Auckland definitely has to be up there as one the greatest achievements!

What are your sport and recreation passions?

I enjoy playing and watching a variety of different sports, but Squash, Netball and Skiing are big favourites.

Most memorable moment while volunteering for ParaFed Otago?

I’m torn between two particularly stand-out memorable moments: the nail biting Boccia final at the 2018 Halberg Games and watching a Parafed member complete their first complete run on a monoski at Cardrona.

On the 26th January ParaFed Otago had two Wheelchair Rugby players from Christchurch, who also play internationally for the Wheelblacks, come down to teach our players some skills and drills that they could then incorporate into their training. Overall it was a very successful day with seven players from Dunedin participating. Everyone had a great time and learned a lot, and there weren't too many popped tires!

We would like to say a massive thank you to Cody and Mike for taking the time to come and share your knowledge with us! We look forward to using what we have learnt and to a great year ahead! If you would like to try out Wheelchair Rugby yourself please don;t hesitate to get in touch and come have a go!

We would like to announce our November Volunteer of the Month, Stephen Vanderpeet. Stephen has played a big role in the ParaFed Otago Wheelchair Basketball team over the last couple of years and we would like to recognize and thank him for all his hard work. Here is a little more from Stephen;

How long have you been volunteering for ParaFed Otago?

"I have been a volunteer for Parafed Otago for the past 2 years, 2017-present."

What sports or activities have you been involved with?

"I have been involved with wheelchair basketball, training's and tournaments."

What do you love about working with ParaFed Otago and their members?

"They are a lovely bunch who make everyone feel welcome and like to get a great job done every time, along with the safety of everyone."

What has been your own personal greatest achievement?

"My own greatest personal achievement is going to India with my course and teaching many young children different ways to be physically active and to play cricket."

What are your sport and recreation passions?

"I always aimed to do my best in all sports but my passion at the moment is canoe polo and aiming to be in the top division for national league."

Most memorable moment while working for ParaFed Otago?

"My most memorable moment was playing up in Christchurch with the whole team and having a great time learning so much and playing some great basketball."

On Friday 2 November ParaFed Otago held their first Annual Prize-Giving function. An amazing night was had by all, with trophies given to the Most Improved and Most Promising for each of our target sports, Boccia, Wheelchair Rugby, Wheelchair Basketball, Swimming, Athletics and Snow Sports.

Wheelchair Rugby - Most Improved: Dillon Maydon and Most Promising: Mia O'Keefe

Boccia - Most Improved: Connor Fa'asega and Most Promising: Dylan Lloyd

Wheelchair Basketball - Most Improved: Bailley Unahi (absent) and Most Promising: Jacob Phillips

Swimming - Most Improved: Hunter Edgecombe and Most Promising: Katie Short

Athletics - Most Improved: Ben Baines and Most Promising: Liam Wilson

Trophies were also awarded to the Most Improved Junior, Kirignaua Cassidy, (absent) and Most Improved Senior, Bailley Unahi, (absent) for Snowsports For Volunteer of the Year to Kirsty Gemmell (absent).

Congratulations to all those who won awards on the night and we look forward to continuing this tradition next year!

On October 27 one of our members, Liam Wilson claimed four national para-records, Liam broke records in both the 16-and-under and 19-and-under T37 long jump, with his jump of 4.28m was 1cm further than both previous records. He also broke the record in the 200m for both age groups with a time of 28.42 seconds with the previous record being 29.21 seconds.

Liam was spotted at last year's Halberg Games, and has been training with Raylene Bates in Athletics New Zealand's high performance programme since then. Liam competed in his first international competition in March with his goal being to compete and win gold at the Paralympics. We can't wait to watch your continued success and cheer you on at the Paralympics one day!!

Congratulations to our October Volunteer of the Month, Abbey Franklin for all her help over the past few months. From Snow Sports weekends to sausage sizzles and bake sales, we couldn't do what we do without your help so, thank you!! Here is a little more from Abbey:How long have you been volunteering for ParaFed Otago? "Just the last 6 months"What sports or activities have you been involved with? "I was so lucky to be part of the adaptive snow sports programme with Physed school. It was through meeting all these legends that I got involved in Wheelchair Rugby and Basketball also."What do you love about working with ParaFed Otago and their members? "The eternal optimism and positivity. All the ParaFed crew have an awesome perspective on life which is always refreshing and appreciated. Thanks for putting up with me."What has been your own personal greatest achievement? "Adaptive skiing wise? Probably attempting a trick, falling off the cat track and losing both my skis when I was out with Kiri."What are your sport and recreation passions?

"Historically, I have always been a team sport gal. Netball, Basketball, and Volleyball. More recently though, I am an outdoor convert. Surfing, skiing, climbing, paddling, you name it. Anything where I can get outdoors and spend some quality time with quality people." "Probably the final day of adaptive snow sports, when I was able to be part of/observe the high-performance training camp for sit skiing. It was pretty incredible to see the athletes absolutely shredding and on the pathway to the Paralympics. I could barely keep up with them. It was awesome!"