Special Olympics Flame of Hope coming to Rotorua

The Special Olympics Flame of Hope will be carried through central Rotorua. Photo/File

Rotorua police will join some of the region's top Special Olympics athletes to carry the Special Olympics Flame of Hope through central Rotorua.

The event is part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run which will see torches relayed from each end of New Zealand to Wellington - the venue for the 2017 Special Olympics National Summer Games.

Similar in style to the Olympic torch relay, the Law Enforcement Torch Run is a series of runs and fundraising events that raise awareness and money for the Special Olympics movement.

Globally more than 90,000 police professionals and supporters across 35 countries participate in Law Enforcement Torch Runs.

"The LETR is one of the highlights of major Special Olympics events, and this year we are excited that the torches will travel to all regions and clubs taking part in the National Summer Games," said Special Olympics New Zealand chief executive Kathy Gibson.

The Rotorua leg will begin at the Rotorua Police Station on Fenton St on Wednesday, November 8 at 11am.

Special Olympics athletes and local police will carry the Flame of Hope up Fenton St, down Hinemoa St and then down Tutanekai St to the Lake Rotorua lake front. They will be joined by students from a number of local primary and secondary schools, who will attend to cheer the torch runners on.

Gibson said that in addition to raising awareness of Special Olympics in New Zealand, the torch run helped to promote and support the Special Olympics' Athlete Leadership Programme that provides athletes with the tools and experiences to become leaders in their own right and to speak for themselves.

"The support of the New Zealand Police and other service personnel is hugely valued and we look forward to taking to the streets with them as we move throughout the country," she said.

Director of the Law Enforcement Torch Run NZ Inspector Mark Harrison said once again they were delighted to support the build up to the National Summer Games.

"Law enforcement staff are proud to run alongside the athletes through our communities as the Flame of Hope makes its way to the Games in Wellington.

"The flame represents so much of what policing is about - it stands for hope, courage, opportunity, inspiration and equality," he said.

The Rotorua leg of the LETR is one of 31 torch run events taking place throughout New Zealand in the lead-up to the Special Olympics National Summer Games in Wellington.

More than 1300 athletes from 42 Special Olympics Clubs and three schools will take part in this year's Games, which will take place from November 27 to December 1.

Held every four years, the Special Olympics New Zealand National Summer Games is the largest event for athletes with intellectual disabilities in New Zealand. The games are run by Special Olympics New Zealand, which provided a year-round programme of sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

It is a different organisation to Paralympics New Zealand, which supports people with physical disabilities to compete in elite international para sport events.