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Sports for physical disability
Having impairments doesn’t need to restrict you - adaptive sports now offer people with disabilities the same level of activity and involvement as non-disabled people can have.
Murray Halberg, the great disabled runner, said: “Every New Zealander no matter what their ability has the right to participate in the sport or active recreation pursuit of their choice – there are no exceptions!”
Developments in technology provide access to sports and recreational activities for disabled people who otherwise might not be able to participate.
Here are some ideas for sports you could try if you have an impairment.
Sports for intellectual disability
Anyone with an intellectual disability is welcome to take part in the Special Olympics programme (this different from Paralympics New Zealand). Special Olympics have afterschool and holiday sports programmes in many areas across Auckland that are designed to meet the needs of people with intellectual disabilities. Their programmes are also highly social and give people opportunities to make friends in their community. They open doors to a wide range of sports and even provide some basics health screenings and services to athletes.
Sports for blind disability
helping to ensure every blind and low vision New Zealander is engaged in regular sport and active recreation.
Disability and Wheelchair Accessible Activities
The great thing about the experiences in New Zealand, even the adventure activities, is that as well as being epic many are accessible to people with mobility, hearing and sight difficulties. All that is needed is a keen taste for exploration and adventure. We’ll go through the top experiences in this list of activities you can do with a disability in New Zealand.