Back again after a Covid enforced hiatus, Burnside High School was able to host the second Disability Sports Extravaganza on Saturday 25th of March.

It was a chance for students from all over Canterbury who have a form of physical impairment to try out new sports in a safe and supportive space, with their peers and range of experts from Sport Canterbury, the Halberg Foundation, Parafed Canterbury and the Graeme Dingle Foundation.
Thirty competitors aged between five and 21, and some of their whānau, had a go at six different disciplines over the course of the day. Students tried Boccia, similar to petanque, Cricket, Wheel-chair Basketball, Hockey, Netball, Football, Archery, and Bowls. There were lots of excellent skills and co-ordination games like rob-the-nest and boom clap snatch. The athletes thrived in an environment where they had a chance to be themselves, meet peers that had similar experiences, and achieve success in sports with slight modifications to assist their physical differences.
The calibre and energy of the athletes were high and they gave the amazing support prefects a solid challenge. This event was a huge success for the community, and it is hoped that this event will grow to support even more rangatahi to gather to show their sporting prowess, have fun competition with physical activity, and connect with friends. The whānau that were supporting their tamariki stated on several occasions that this was such an inclusive environment where there kids were able to have a go on their own terms and they thrived! He manawa tītī - their hearts were big and strong like the tītī.
A huge thank you to Anna Wetherall from Burnside High School for facilitating this event, in conjunction with Mitchell Rhodes from the Halberg trust. The enthusiasm and care and cheerleading showed by our year 13 helpers (Vicki Wijaya, Jiayi Zheng, Ameya Raut, Dilkee Nanayakkara, Jack Guillemot, Alex Dubery) was out of sight, they were excellent role models. A massive thank you goes out to the families for bringing such energy and epic attitudes to this sports extravaganza. We can tell that there are some future paralympians out there and we look forward to seeing them again soon.