“I’m Ella Sharples and I was born to ski.” So starts Ella Sharples’ Global Messenger speech—something you will no doubt hear more of in the years to come.
Based in central Auckland, Ella spends most of her winters skiing and snowboarding and dreams of one day becoming a Ski Coach for Special Olympics New Zealand and “up the mountain”. She picked up the sport in 2002 and has quickly progressed to skiing black runs with ease.
Her athleticism extends to powerlifting (“to keep me strong and maintain technique”), swimming (in which she regularly swims 1500m freestyle on top of her Special Olympics Auckland training), basketball, athletics and football.
Since joining the Global Messenger programme Ella has been busy honing her public speaking skills. She spoke at a sponsor’s conference in May and also presents to the Special Olympics Auckland Central Committee on a monthly basis in her role as Athlete Representative.