Skills festival for para athletes

The joy of ‘‘having a go’’ at the Halberg Games . . . James Moore hurls out the shotput, Pictures supplied

Gisborne sent four young athletes to the Halberg Games held at King’s College, Auckland, last weekend.

The 2024 Halberg Games — a three-day national sports festival for young New Zealanders with physical disabilities — drew 220 athletes representing teams from Northland to Southland.

Gisborne’s representatives were 13-year-old Lezae Te Reo, who was named her regional team’s most valuable member, Ison-Kene Te Reo, 10, brother of Lezae, James Moore, 14, and Hudson Apperley, 8.

Lezae, Ison-Kene and Hudson specialised in running events, and James featured in the swimming pool, but they also took part in other activities.

Among the events offered were no-limits netball, wheelchair basketball, boccia (a sitting game that is a mixture of petanque and lawn bowls) and field events.

The Halberg organisation hosted the event with the help of the Parafed Network.

Halberg is a charitable organisation founded in 1963 by Olympic gold medallist Murray Halberg. It aims to create moments of joy for physically disabled young people through sport and recreation.

Louise Ellery, regional development coordinator for Parafed Gisborne Tairawhiti, said the Halberg Games were about participation — having a go.

“They don’t give out awards for placings,” she said.

Entrants in any given event had mixed disabilities, so it was not a case of like competing against like.

The games were open to anyone aged eight to 21 with physical disability or visual impairment.

“We’ve been sending a team for seven or eight years,” Ellery said.

“This is the fourth year running for Lezae, the second year for Ison-Kene and the first for James and Hudson.”