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BLIND SPORTS & RECREATION VICTORIA
NEWSLETTER – SEPETEMBER 2017
It is with great pleasure that I write this message for our newsletter.
Some of you, but not all, may be aware that our President, Maurice Gleeson, OAM, was presented with a lifetime achievement award from Disability Sport and Recreation Victoria at the organisation’s recent awards ceremony.
Maurice was recognised for his outstanding work with the blind and vision impaired community highlighting a commitment of more than thirty-five years. He has been President of BSRV since 1991.
In presenting the award, the judges noted that Maurice had been innovative in his work, introducing many new sport and recreational opportunities for people with vision loss or impairment. It seems he won't take 'no' for an answer.
Maurice was a popular winner and in accepting the award, he spoke of the significant progress that had been made in recent years in the areas of inclusion and acceptance. He spoke of great progress for those facing challenges and obstacles in the pursuit of what many of us take for granted - being active, participating in the community. Maurice noted that having meaningful work and access to sport and recreation enabled us all to live a full and healthy life.
As Vice President of BSRV I feel privileged to have been part of such an innovative and highly respected organisation for many years. Recognition from others is gratifying and we are proud of the many awards we have received, both individually and as an organisation. However, the work we do is not possible without the generosity of our wonderful supporters – including various levels of government and a range of large and small companies as well as many individual supporters who give time and funding to help us deliver programs our members enjoy.
Remember to follow our updates on Facebook and our website and feel free to share the good news among your networks.
Congratulations Maurice, you are an inspiring leader.
Dr Caroline van de PolVice PresidentBlind Sports & Recreation Victoria
Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria454 Glenferrie Road Kooyong 3144Telephone: (03) 9822 8876www.blindsports.org.auEmail: [email protected]
Registered CharityDeductible Gift Recipient
Table of Contents
Victorian Disability Sport & Recreation Awards.....................1
Higgins Award............................1
Cape Conran Camp...................2
Tennis.........................................3
Swimming & Aquatics.................3
Achilles Melbourne has Eyes for The Blackmores Sydney Running Festival.......................................4
AFL Blind Program.....................5
Inaugural Australian Blind Football training camp and selection trials ...................................................6
Cycling is possible for blind and low vision people - Captains and Tandem Bikes available.............6
Kooyong Vision Impaired Table Tennis Club (KVITTC)................7
Melbourne City Football for All Abilities.......................................7
Goalball Volunteers Needed......8
VIBE Ski Club.............................8
Blind Bowls Victoria....................8
Sponsorship...............................9
Facebook...................................9
Victorian Disability Sport & Recreation AwardsCongratulations to all winners & finalists of the Victorian Disability Sport & Recreation Awards.
The President of Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria, Maurice Gleeson OAM, was presented with a lifetime achievement award at their awards ceremony on 17 August.
Maurice was recognised for his outstanding work with the blind and vision impaired community highlighting a commitment of more than thirty-five years. He has been President of BSRV since 1991.
Congratulations Maurice!
Photo above: Victorian Disability Awards
Higgins AwardAround 300 people attended the Higgins Community Service Awards night on 28 July. These awards are to recognise people who have made a significant contribution to the community in a volunteer capacity.
BSRV nominated Margaret Snyder who has given a significant voluntary contribution to people with vision loss living in the Higgins Electorate and beyond over the past 53 years.
L to R: Hon Linda Dessau AC, Margaret Snyder and Kelly O’Dwyer MP
Margaret began teaching people who were blind and vision impaired to square dance, for the Association for the Blind at Kooyong and the ‘Guiding Light Square Dance Club’ was formed in 1974. The club is now known as the ‘Vision Australia Squares’.Her devotion and commitment continued as Margaret became immersed in assisting and encouraging the square dance participants on many levels. This included spending much of her own time sewing special dresses and petticoats for the women; and matching ties and shirts for the men. Her quiet, skilled direction and organisational skills helped smooth the way for hundreds of square dancing sessions, demonstrations and performances, including many international tours.
Margaret has earned the love and respect of many people along the way. Her volunteerism has helped to provide meaningful social connections and community involvement for hundreds of
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people with vision loss spanning more than half a century.
The Governor of Victoria, the Hon Linda Dessau AC, presented the awards along with Kelly Dwyer MP.
Thank you Margaret for all your volunteer work!
Cape Conran CampBy Jane Spracklam
Photo below L to R: Alan, Wanda, Jane, Kaye and Sandra
Meeting up for my first camp experience with BSRV and other blind and vision impaired people, I met for the first time, Alan, Wanda, Kaye, our volunteer driver extraordinaire Janet, and the camp organiser and superstar Sandra Knight.
After loading up all our goods, we set off on schedule and continued to Sale where we stopped for lunch by the river. We made good progress and our next stop was near to Cape Conran where we drove down a bush track to a quiet spot where we did the 'cabbage tree palm' walk.
After the walk, we continued on our way to a large lodge which was to be our accommodation at Cape Conran for the next 3 nights. A warm wood fire allowed us to sink in to our lounge suite with a glass of wine, after a great dinner of slow cooked pulled lamb, courtesy of Sandra. We were very grateful to the manager of the lodge, Josh, for the continuous supply of firewood. Janet worked hard, despite a sore back, to bring in our wood and keep the fire alight 24/7. She is a star.
Thursday saw us up early and our first activity was a brisk walk along the beautiful long Eastern beach . We walked in both directions for at least two hours. It was at a cracking pace. No quiet stroll for us! The afternoon saw us on the bus to visit the local town of Orbost and my love of op shopping was indulged - thanks camp mates! Dinner that night was delicious - baked chicken breasts with satay sauce. We had a crossword puzzle book and a word game to keep us entertained throughout the evening.
Friday dawned fair again, after some good night rain. Ranger Mike visited us at 9am with some fantastic taxidermy specimens for us to feel, of local wildlife including 2 owls, a bandicoot and possum.
Our morning walk was to the beautiful estuary of the Snowy river. After lunch we did a walk that paralleled the coast, along a sandy track boarded by Teatree and banksias. Janet picked us up at the end of the track and we had a pleasant drive exploring back roads and rivers in the surrounding park. We had a peaceful stop on the banks of the Yeering river.
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Sadly, all to soon came the arrival of Saturday morning which marked the end of our stay. We packed up and drove to Traralgon for lunch and then had a pleasant walk along the park path to a playground where we had a go on a flying fox.
As a "newby” to the Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria Walking Group, I found an immediate affinity with fellow members. We were gung ho, outgoing, always ready to have a go and it was a great learning experience. I thank everyone for making me feel so welcome and look forward to the next camp.
TennisAdult Blind Tennis is well underway for 2017 with 21 participants and volunteers attending.
People with varying level of vision impairment participate in the program, rotating through different tennis exercises with the support of volunteers. Various types of balls are used, including audible tennis balls and various size and colour balls.Until the development of the program, people with total blindness had no access to any kind of tennis activity. Now, people from a wide range of backgrounds and ages are participating.
After the success of the Junior Tennis pilot in Term 1, it kicked off again in Term 3 and will continue through Term 4. All children aged 5 to 15, who are blind or vision impaired, are invited to join us on alternate
Fridays from 5.30pm until 6.30pm. The remaining dates for 2017 are 13 and 27 October and 10 November.
Qualified, professional coaches and all equipment will be supplied. Free parking is provided for parents of participants.For more information contact us or click here: http://blindsports.org.au/sports-2/tennis/
Swimming & AquaticsBSRV offer multiple swimming and aquatic programs for those who wish to gain confidence in the water, learn to swim or just have some fun.
Every Monday morning a welcoming and friendly group of blind and vision impaired adults participate in water aerobics, gym work or fitness boxing at the Oasis Centre in Dandenong.
Children can learn to swim in a safe and nurturing environment on Sundays at the Ruyton Girls School in Kew. North Lodge Swimming Academy in Dandenong provides swimming lessons for blind and vision impaired adults and children every Saturday.
For more information contact us or click here:http://blindsports.org.au/sports-2/aquaticsandswimming/
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Achilles Melbourne has Eyes for The Blackmores Sydney Running FestivalBy Simon Watharow
Achilles Sydney graciously sponsored a large contingent of Achilles Melbourne - ten vision impaired runners and seven guides to participate in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival Sunday 17th
September 2017. The amazing and generous offer was scoffed down like rump steak in front of a guide dog!
The day finally came to tackle the flight to Sydney and despite nervous doubts due to weather cancellations two days in a row we would not be denied. The team met at the airport with dogs and luggage in tow. The inboard announcement on the Qantas flight-welcoming Achilles on-board was met with a rowdy roar.
Race Day came and the carious matchings met around Sydney at railways stations and around the Harbour Bridge starting point. The 21km entrants were the first away, the Team Adam completely smashed out a great time of 1hr and 30minutes, and Team Kevin did an amazing run too, in just over 2 hours.
Simon took off after that for his epic full marathon which lasted 5hrs and 9mins and never did the finish line at the Opera House look so grand.
The teams Maddy, Brook, Maysa, Francois and Sophie enjoyed the 10km race that led them over the Sydney Harbour Bridge with views all around Sydney and with perfect
weather - what’s not to love? The last event 3.5km had Hayley and Christine doing their first event great job!
Sydney really can put on the show, providing the most spectacular harbour in the world with an impressive list of iconic sights and sounds to enjoy while running.
The day was finally done in time to race back and catch our flight back to Melbourne. We would like to acknowledge and thank the amazing support from Achilles Sydney and Pont 3. Another huge thanks also to Deb Christie and Simone Albiston for generously coaching Kevin, Simon, Francois and Maysa to reach their goals.
Whether you are blind or vision impaired or you wish to run or walk beside someone who is blind or vision impaired, this club is for you. Members meet every Sunday at The Tan running track and on Saturdays at some parkrun clubs across Melbourne. If you love dogs, there are also opportunities available to mind the guide dogs whilst their owners are on the running track. For more information contact [email protected]
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AFL Blind ProgramBy AFL Victoria
Blind and vision-impaired Victorians will have the opportunity to participate in Australian Rules football next season, following VicHealth’s Innovation Challenge funding announcement today.
AFL Victoria’s inaugural AFL Blind program is one of six projects that have been chosen as part of VicHealth’s $500,000 Innovation Challenge: Sport program, which supports new initiatives that help less active Victorians to take part in sport activities.
In conjunction with Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria and AFL, AFL Victoria’s AFL Blind project will strive to develop an adapted version of Australian Rules football for the Victorian blind and impaired community.
AFL Victoria FIDA Football & AAA Programs Manager Tim Nield said VicHealth’s support will help continue AFL Victoria’s commitment to make Australian Rules football the most accessible sport for all Victorians.
“There are approximately 1.1 million Victorians who have a disability, with only 1 in 4 participating in sport and recreation
compared to 3 in 4 of the general public, so VicHealth’s funding is extremely important in helping us rectify these figures,” Nield said.
“We are excited to work alongside Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria, AFL and key industry experts in this area to help us develop the AFL Blind program which we believe will help increase the physical activity levels of inactive Victorians with disability.
“AFL Victoria has a number of disability programs which offer people with disability the opportunity to participate in our great game, and through VicHealth’s support, we will now be able to extend our programs to allow any Victorian with any disability the chance to play Australian Rules football.”
VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter congratulated AFL Blind and the other winning projects for identifying new opportunities to get more Victorians taking part in physical activity.
“VicHealth is proud to support such exciting and innovative concepts like AFL Blind. We know that being more active is good for the health of all Victorians, however there are certain barriers including age, disability and skill which prevent people getting involved,” Ms Rechter said.
“We’re excited to be partnering with organisations like AFL Victoria as they trial their programs and get even more Victorians active in new and creative ways.”
Blind and vision impaired Victorians keen to be part of the first-ever AFL Blind program should contact Tim Nield at
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[email protected] to register their interest.
Inaugural Australian Blind Football training camp and selection trials By David Connolly
On 26 and 27 August a group of blind and vision impaired footballers, coaches, volunteers and referees from Victoria travelled to Sydney to take part in the Inaugural Australian Blind Football training camp and selection trials at Ultimate Soccer in Fairfield.
The weekend was a huge success with players, coaches and development staff coming together for a weekend of workshops, training and games.
The aim of this inaugural training camp and selection trials was to commence the process of selecting a training squad of players, including a National B1 team with the aim of representing Australia through the Oceania region at next year’s IBSA Blind Football (B1) World Championships in Madrid, Spain, as well as a National B2/B3 team with the aim of competing at the 2019 IBSA World Games.
The representatives from Victoria that attended were Steve Obeid, Ned Brewer-Maiga (B2/B3), Shae Skinner, Brendan Spencer, and Amir Abdi (B1) as well as Michael Roski (Coach), Simon Briffa (Goalkeeper), Sebastian Petrovich (Referee) and David Connolly (now National Blind Football Coordinator, Blind Sports Australia).Blind Sports Australia has dates for similar workshops and selection trials in Perth and Adelaide over the coming months, with the aim of making an announcement later this year of a national squad and dates for national camps in 2018.
Cycling is possible for blind and low vision people - Captains and Tandem Bikes availableAre you blind or vision impaired and do you enjoy exercising through bike riding?If so, we are ready to take you cycling on a tandem bike.
We are a group of people with Tandem Bicycles and authorised by Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria to offer tandem bike riding, including touring the sights, sounds and smells of not only Melbourne and suburbs, but also regional Victoria. We have the skills and equipment to provide a friendly and safe cycling experience to anyone wanting to ride on a tandem bike.
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Along the way there will be rest stops, coffee / tea stops and stops at other interesting places.
If you would like to participate in our tandem bike riding group, please contact Andrew Evans on email - [email protected] or mobile phone - 0417 575 061Or Richard Cole on email - [email protected] or mobile
phone 0427 072 493Or Peter Labinski on email - [email protected] or mobile phone 0407 808 137
Kooyong Vision Impaired Table Tennis Club (KVITTC)By Marco Currajelo
The Kooyong Vision Impaired Table Tennis Club (KVITTC) have now moved back to Vision Australia Kooyong Office and will no longer be playing at the Box Hill South Lions Club building.
They hope to resume play at Kooyong in late September or early October.
The good news for the very keen and serious vision impaired table tennis player is that there are two other venues that you can still play this awesome game until play resumes at Kooyong.
1. Dandenong Vision Impaired Table Tennis Club (DVITTC) Dandenong Table Tennis Centre Dandenong Oasis ComplexCorner Heatherton Road and Cleeland Street Dandenong The DVITTC play vision impaired table tennis on Mondays from 12:30 pm until
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4:00 pm and Fridays from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm.
2. Croydon Vision Impaired Table Tennis Club (CVITTC) Croydon and District Table Tennis Association Kilsyth Sports Centre 123 Liverpool Road Kilsyth The CVITTC play vision impaired table tennis on Tuesday nights from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Contact [email protected]
Melbourne City Football for All AbilitiesA mixed clinic for children with a disability to engage and participate in football activities facilitated by Melbourne City Football Club community coaches in an environment that is fun, supportive and safe.
Date: Wednesday 4th of October 2017Time: 1.00pm – 3.00pmLocation: City Football Academy Community Football PitchAges: 7 – 15 yearsCost: Free
Numbers will be limited so book early!
https://premier.sportsubs.com.au/aleague/melbournecity/products/products?productcategoryid=6&productsubcategoryid=677
If you have any special requirements or additional information that you would like us to be aware of, please send an email to [email protected]
Goalball Volunteers NeededVolunteers are needed to assist at the Australian Goalball Championships which are being held in Melbourne from Wednesday 4 October to Saturday 7 October (various shifts available).
Venue: Collingwood CollegeCromwell St, Collingwood
Volunteer Requirements: casual clothing with runners and a positive outlook
Volunteer positions: Goal judging, game scorer, athlete eye patching and game time keeper (brief training will be provided)
For further information or to volunteer your time, please contact Pam at [email protected]
VIBE Ski ClubThe Ski Club aims to provide the opportunity for blind and vision impaired people to enjoy the Victorian alpine area and to provide community support through club members. We encourage members and their families to connect together through events run during the year. Events range from alpine
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activities such as ski trips and family fun days to social gatherings such as BBQ’s and trivia nights. Activities run by the club are open to members and non-members with a focus on enabling additional vision impaired people to enjoy within the alpine environment.
We are a group of volunteers who enjoy a variety of alpine recreation activities. Through working together as a community, we aim to facilitate the participation of blind and vision impaired people and their families in this enjoyable, different and rewarding form of recreation.
For further information, please contact Samantha on 0423 054 767.
Blind Bowls VictoriaLawn bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a “jack” or “kitty”.
When playing lawn bowls, members with a vision impairment are accompanied by a sighted helper. Blind Bowls Victoria welcome any new players and volunteers.
The dates and venue for the remainder of 2017 is:
September 17 - Greythorn bowls clubSeptember 24 - Glen WaverleyOctober 1 - BelmontOctober 8 - MoorabbinOctober 15 - Noble ParkOctober 22 - RingwoodOctober 29 - EuroaNovember 5 - Strathmore
November 12 - PakenhamNovember 19 - EdithvaleNovember 26 - HealesvilleDecember 10 - Werribee For further information or any enquiries, please contact Len O’Brien on 97032747.
SponsorshipBlind Sports & Recreation Victoria invites interested individuals and companies to contact us about sponsorship in this newsletter, a quarterly publication distributed widely including all three levels of government and various departments including Department of Sport& Recreation, VicHealth and Department of Education.
The newsletter is well circulated through the Australian Sports Commission, a number of generic sporting organisations, numerous corporate partners – both small and large, and other disability sporting groups as well as the Victorian Institute of Sport and to members of the general public.
If you would like to discuss the opportunity for sponsorship, pleasecontact Susan on 9822 8876 oremail [email protected]
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