The mighty city of Newcastle is famous for many attractions and talented people. More specifically, within Access Industries, there is a team of talented, multi medal winning Special Olympians.
Caleb Smith, Clare Frize, Lorraine Archer, Michael Courey, Clancy Riley, Wayne Hurley and Taylor Kearney are all supported employees at our Newcastle facility. Apart from being workmates, there is another bond they have a common. They are all medal winning athletes.
At the 2022 Special Olympics National Games in Launceston, the team cleaned up with a medal haul that weighed down their suitcases, in basketball, tenpin bowling, athletics and bocci.
Caleb blitzed the field with 5 medals – a silver for the 200m sprint and a bronze each for team relay, shotput, javelin and 100m sprint.
Clare cleaned up in bocci with a gold in the singles comp and a silver in teams.
The rest of the team added to the take home tally with multiple 2nds and 3rds in tenpin bowling.
2022 is not the first games where this team has cleaned up. Most of them, who have been working at Access Industries for 10 years or more, have attended many nationals, state and local tournaments over the years. For some of them, it was through social inclusion activities with Access where they first discovered their love of sport.
For Wayne, Lorraine and Caleb, our more seasoned performers, they are privileged to also be ambassadors of their sport and team mentors for some of the national games they attend. It is a very important role for all of them – to give something in return for the love of their sport and the support they have received.
“I enjoy going to different tournaments, said Wayne. “I get to meet and greet different people. I have even met a US Ambassador once.”
For Lorraine, it’s also about assisting the teams and encouraging new people into the sport. “When it comes to competitions, I help out with other teams” Lorraine explained. “I also encourage new people to get involved and compete. We are getting a lot of kids from primary schools taking up Special Olympics sports. And that’s a good thing.”
The team continue to hone their sporting skills in preparation for the next Special Olympics. We’ll be keeping an eye on our team ready to report on the next medal haul.
In the meantime, Access Industries will continue to encourage participation in sport and achieving goals through our supported planning and life skills services.
We support employees to strive for goals both within the workplace, such as learning new tasks, and outside of work, such as getting a driver’s licence. This provides endless opportunities for employees to increase knowledge, gain new skills, develop a career path and participate in their community.
2022 Special Olympics National Games Medal Tally
Clare bocci 1st in singles, 2nd in teams
Lorraine tenpin 2 x 3rd and 5th place
Michael tenpin silver and bronze
Clancy tenpin 3 x bronze medals
Taylor tenpin bronze