Well, the first three week unit of the 2015 program, our term 2 events, run jointly between the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and Guide Doge Victoria, have now been completed. Twelve families registered for the program which included T-Ball, athletics and cycling. The aims of the program are pretty simple.
For the youngsters they are:
· Being given opportunities to participate in a range of sporting and recreational activities with their peers
· Challenging any belief systems that they can’t participate in or get to sporting and recreational activities because of low or no vision
· Learning that participation in sporting and recreational activities is a personal choice based on what they would like to do rather than the notion that they cant either participate or get to venues because of low or no vision
· Learning that that low or no vision is no barrier to participating in sporting and recreational activities for any person of any age or any gender at any level from grass roots all the way through to the elite levels
For the parents they are:
· Simply having fun with and enjoying activities together with their children
· Being able to socialise in a non threatening and fun environment with other parents of blind and vision impaired children
· Learning that that low or no vision is no barrier for their children to be able to participate in sporting and recreational activities
· Learning how they can adapt activities to enable their blind and vision impaired children to participate
· Learning the possibilities of what their blind and vision impaired children can achieve if only they are given the opportunities
· Learning there are no boundaries to their blind and vision impaired children being able to do anything they want to in sporting and recreational activities at any level from grass roots to all the way through to elite levels
The term kicked on May 17th with T-Ball. The participants learnt the basics of fielding, throwing, batting and running bases before implementing all the acquired skills in an all in game involving both parents and children. A very special thanks to Baseball Victoria for kindly providing all the equipment needed for the day.
On May 24th Athletics was the order of the day. After warm ups it was long jump, triple jump, shot put and discus before all manner of races including relays. Again, everyone including parents participated in all the activities. A very special thanks to the State-wide Vision Resource Centre for kindly providing all the track and field equipment.
For the final day for term 2, May 31st we shifted gear taking to the bike paths. Leaving Kooyong mums, dads, boys, girls, brothers and sisters all mounted their charges and followed the bike path towards the city. Seeking refuge at one point for a short time under the MacRobertson Bridge to avoid being caught in a heavy shower, the convoy proceeded onto the Botanical Gardens where they took time out for a rest, hot chocolates, coffees and the like avoiding a heavy down pour and waiting for the weather to clear up before continuing on their way. Back on the bikes and after returning to Kooyong it was time to fire up the BBQ and enjoy a well earned lunch. Again, the day would not have been possible without the support of organizations providing the necessary equipment and this time it was thanks to Blind Sports Victoria and Guide Dogs Victoria for kindly providing the tandem bikes that helped make the day such a success.
Now it’s time for a break until we are back again for the term 3 program when we take on goalball, basket ball, swish, indoor bowls and bocce before the term finale when we try our hand (or is that our feet?) at ice skating.
Thanks to all our families who joined in the various activities. We trust you enjoyed the days as much as we did seeing how enthusiastically everyone participated. Don’t forget to tell all your friends about the fun you have had and we look forward to seeing you all back again on August 9th when we can all once again “Get Physical” at our term 3 program.