League greats get behind Special Olympics club

Rugby league coaching legend Wayne Bennett (pictured) will address Te Awamutu Special Olympics' annual charity dinner.

He will join league's greatest supporter and ambassador Sir Peter Leitch of Mad Butcher fame.

The charity dinner is on May 25 at Te Awamutu Events Centre, and will be the cornerstone fundraising event for the club, which provides sports training and competition for people with intellectual disabilities.

Club co-ordinator Shelley Blair says it is a major event for Special Olympics Te Awamutu and everyone is excited to have Wayne Bennett and Sir Peter Leitch supporting us.

"It's quite an achievement for a little town like Te Awamutu," she says.

Funds raised from the charity dinner will go toward helping send its athletes to the 2013 Special Olympics New Zealand National Summer Games in Dunedin in late November to buy sports training gear and develop a website.

"The National Summer Games is a big cost weighing on the Club. We have 30 athletes eligible to go to the Games. It is a major event, with more than 4000 people from around New Zealand attending including 1500 athletes, 400-plus coaches and support staff, 100 health clinicians, 20 sports officials, hundreds of family members and friends, and 1000-plus volunteers. It's a great chance for our athletes to compete and showcase their talents on the national stage. The charity dinner will go a long way to help fund the team's trip."

EVENT DETAILS

• 
  What: Special Olympics Te Awamutu Charity Dinner.
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  When: Saturday, May 25.
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  Time: 6pm.
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  Venue: Trust Waikato Te Awamutu Events Centre, cnr Mahoe St and Selwyn Lane, Te Awamutu.