Front row, left to right, Martha Norgate, Gregory Wright and Nyssa Topp. Back row, left to right, David Jowers and Joshua Ryan.
Five Special Olympics New Zealand bocce players competed at the 2010 Special Olympics Asia Pacific Bocce Competition in Brunei Darussalam from 29 September to 2 October. The players won gold, silver, and bronze – and two of the players had the chance to lend a hand to a Philippines team and got in extra game time.
The Special Olympics New Zealand team, consisting of Nyssa Topp and Martha Norgate of Nelson, Gregory Wright of Horowhenua and David Jowers and Joshua Ryan of Manawatu, was supported by coaches JoAnn Richardson and Norah Savage. Judy Marris served as team manager.
“The athletes came together as a new team really well,” says Judy Maris. “We’re really pleased with their performance – and we came home with a haul of medals!”
The fours team, consisting of Nyssa, David, Joshua and Gregory, won gold in its division. Martha joined a team from the Philippines team and it also won gold in its division
In singles competition, David and Gregory each brought home a gold medal in their divisions, while Nyssa won silver, Martha won bronze and Josh won fifth.
In the pairs competition, Nyssa and David combined their skills to win a gold medal in their division as did Martha and Gregory. Josh partnered with a player from the Philippines and they also won a gold medal in their division!
Josh says that meeting all the new people was the highlight of the trip for him. He also really enjoyed playing with the team from the Philippines. He says that while it was hot outside, it was cool inside the mosques that the team visited.
“We all coped with the 33C heat,” says Judy. “This competition is usually held outside but this year, it was inside because of the heat! Unfortunately, the air conditioning wasn’t working. There were fans and the doors were open, but it was hot!”
While the weather may have been hot, the showers weren’t. That was a bit of a shock initially, says Judy, but after the first day, the team was grateful for the cooling water! It was the first trip overseas for Nyssa and Gregory who, along with their teammates, had a good look around: when the athletes weren’t competing, they toured Brunei. They were invited to a private home for dinner and a fireworks display, visited mosques, toured a market and took a river trip to see proboscis monkeys.
The athletes were also exposed to royalty: Her Royal Highness Princess Fadzilah Lubabul Bolkiah officiated the opening ceremony of the Asia Pacific Bocce Competition. The competition was officially closed by the Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Datin Hjh Adina binte Othman.