Officials News

By Leon Blanchet

In this issue I wish to report on the Arafura Games – Darwin, an event that the majority of New Zealand officials will probably have never heard of.

I and three other New Zealand Officials - Ruth Liong, Heather O’Hagan and Keith Bade - were invited by Paralympics Australia and Paralympics New Zealand to attend the Arafura Games to participate in an International Paralympics Committees Level 1 NTO - IPC course and officiate at the games from 9 to 13 May. An experience all will remember for various reasons, the first possibly being the air travel with two hops taking more than ten hours in total. With two flight delays the South Island contingent finally arrived and made bed around 2 am on the day of the course which thankfully had changed its start time to allow two bleary eyed Kiwis a little more time in bed.

The course on the ninth, which was run by the retired chairman of IPC Athletics Chris Cohen was extremely enlightening, giving attendees a far better insight to the application of the IPC rules for Athletes with a Disability. At the conclusion of the lectures, the 12 course members sat the Level 1 NTO IPC examination and I’m proud to say all four Kiwis passed.

That evening we, along with several thousand locals, 3500 plus athletes and their officials from 49 countries attended the opening ceremony. An entertaining evening with lots of razzmatazz finished off with a march-past of teams and a finale of fireworks.

We often read about the time athletes have to sit around at such opening ceremonies and this event was no exception to the rule. I for one felt sorry for the time athletes had to sit around prior to making their entrance. From the time teams left their accommodation, arrived at the assembly area, were fed and the last athletes finally made it into the arena it was well over four hours. For all that I think the majority of athletes would have had a marvelous evening.

From the 10th to the 13th we four Kiwis were fully employed officiating at the Track and Field Championships. I was on Jury duty and assisting occasionally in the field, Ruth in Jumps, and Keith and Heather in the field events. Fortunately for us Kiwis the track and field sessions were held in the evenings between 5.00pm and 9.30pm, a relief from the daytime temperature. I must say it was a very good experience for all and something we can all use leading up to the Paralympic Track and Field Championships at Christchurch in 2011.    

Games History
The first Arafura Games were held in Darwin in 1991, attracting around 1500 athletes from seven countries competing in 13 sports. By the time the 2005 games took place athlete numbers had grown to 3000, athletes representing 32 nations and competing in 30 sports.

In 2005 the Australian Paralympic Committee and the Northern Territory Government embarked on an ambitious program which resulted in the inclusion of the Oceania Paralympic Championships in May 2007 with more than 300 athletes participating.

At this year’s event Athletes with a Disability competed in seven different sports but unfortunately I do not have the total numbers that competed in Track and Field. A quick look at the results would indicate somewhere around 85 plus competed along with their able bodied counterparts.

The Arafura Games' logo, with its flag motifs, was developed to represent the coming together of competitors throughout the Asia Pacific region. The region centres on the Arafura Sea, the body of water joining Northern Australia and South East Asia. 

The next biannual games will be held in 2011 so if you have an interest in being part of this event please keep your eye on the Arafura Games website: http://www.arafuragames.nt.gov.au/

And to those officials from other sports bodies who may have read this article check the Arafura website to see if there is an opportunity for you to attend the next games.

Finally I must thank the Arafura Games Organising Committee, Paralympics Australia and Paralympics New Zealand for giving us four Kiwis the opportunity to officiate at the games. It was a marvelous learning curve and a great experience for all.