Welcome to
Special Olympics Otago
Let Me Win. But If I cannont win then let me be brave in the attempt
Welcome to Special Olympics Otago
Special Olympics Otago offers year round training and competition for a variety of sports to people with an intellectual disability. We give people with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to discover their potential. We also encourage our athletes to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy and friendship.
Special Olympics New Zealand was founded in 1983. Today more than 5,500 athletes participate in 14 Olympic-type sports provided by 43 Clubs throughout the country. If you would like more information on these clubs check out- Special Olympics New Zealand
At Special Olympics Otago we provide sport training opportunities on a weekly basis to more than 120 athletes in basketball, indoor bowls, golf, tenpin bowling, swimming, powerlifting, snowsports (alpine skiing and snowboarding), indoor rowing and football.
If you would like to join a sport click the button below for more information.
SPORTS
Powerlifting
Powerlifting training offers squat, bench press and deadlift…
Swimming
Swimming is one of the most popular sports…
Indoor Bowls
Indoor Bowls is undertaken between March & October each year…
Indoor Rowing
Every Monday during the university year…
Golf
The golf coaching program is run from late October to mid December..
Basketball
The basketball program runs from April until September each year…
Tenpin Bowling
Tenpin Bowling is held at Bowl line Dunedin on a Thursday at 7pm…
Snowsports
Snowsports is held during the winter and is made up of 2 weekends and 1 week…
Football
Football training is held on a Tuesday at Chingford Park in North East Valley at 4:30pm…
Events
We have a number of events throughout the year. If you would like to come along and join in click the button below
Special Olympics Rafting Trip
Several of our athletes had the opportunity to take part in a Rafting Trip organised by Brian Benn and Wild Earth Adventures owner Steve Brown. The athletes were lead on a short walk up the millennium track and a short jet boat trip to John Bull Gully for a BBQ lunch. They learnt several new skills and were given an amazing day of fun!! Special thanks to all the helpers that turned up on the day. A very big thank you to Steve Brown for giving up your time to give our Athletes a really great day. If you would like to check out Steve’s business visit – https://wildearth.co.nz/
Athlete Leadership Programme
Athlete Leaders speak in their community and around New Zealand at seminars and conferences. They address functions and community groups about intellectual disability, Special Olympics and their experiences.
Meet our new Regional Coordinator
Hi everyone! My name is Chris Moffitt and I started with Special Olympics NZ at the end of January, taking over from Matt McFadyen as the Regional Sports Coordinator for the Lower South Island.
I’ve worked in the sport and recreation sector for most of my life and enjoy a wide range of sports, having played, coached, refereed, or administered almost every sport that Special Olympics has to offer! While my competitive days are mostly behind me, I still regularly play Indoor Bowls and Golf, as well as participating as a sighted guide in several Blind Sports activities with low vision athletes.
My role with Special Olympics NZ is to support promote our organisation and Lower South Island clubs. As part of this I run school sports programs, offering taster sports sessions to potential athletes in their schools. Alongside this I am also running a Secondary School Sports afternoon on Wednesdays, where we have around 35 students from 7 different schools attending. I hope that from this introduction to Special Olympics sport at school level, students will look to link up with Otago club and continue their participation.
I’m looking forward to working with and for you all, so please do come up to me and say ‘Hi’ if you see me around.
Chris Moffitt
Volunteer Roles
We are always looking for new volunteers from helping out at events or trainings to coaching our athletes.
Click the button below to find out what roles are available right now!!