The Special Olympics New Zealand 2025 National Summer Games has been named Community or Not-For-Profit Event of the Year 2026 (under 3,000 participants) at the New Zealand Events Association Awards!
Held in Ōtautahi Christchurch, the National Summer Games brought together more than 1,200 athletes from 42 Special Olympics clubs for four days of competition across 10 sports and six venues.
More than 950 volunteers helped bring the Games to life, alongside coaches, officials, whānau, supporters, partners and sponsors.
The Games also hosted Special Olympics New Zealand's Healthy Athletes Programme, providing more than 990 health screenings. This included 470 pairs of prescription glasses for 340 athletes, as well as around 350 pairs of sunglasses.
While the award recognises the scale and delivery of the event, at the heart of the 2025 National Summer Games were our athletes — competing, reconnecting with friends, representing their clubs and achieving personal goals.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2025 National Summer Games possible, particularly our athletes, whānau, coaches, volunteers, officials and supporters.
Special Olympics New Zealand also thanks Premier Partner Freemasons New Zealand, Presenting Partner NOVUS New Zealand, MediaWorks New Zealand and our Funding Partners for their support of the Games, and Special Olympics New Zealand.
