PARALYMPICS AUSTRALIA ZOOM CALLS
For the past few weeks the focus in our PE lessons has been on the Paralympics and disability in sports. All classes participated in various activities and modified versions of the Paralympic sports of athletics, sitting volleyball and goalball. We had lots of interesting discussions and shared some great stories!
On Thursday 18th June all of the PE classes at Molesworth had the amazing opportunity to speak and hear from Australian Paralympic Athletes. We spoke via zoom and the athletes introduced themselves, told us of their journeys and disabilities, shared their experiences with us and showed us their Paralympic Medals! One of the Paralympic athletes shared his special quote with us, ‘the only disability is a bad attitude’. Here are some of our thoughts after the sessions:
Session 1 Brenden Hall – Para Swimmer
- I asked Brenden how nervous does he feel as he is about to race. Brenden told us that he never really gets nervous but one time his friend had just won a gold medal and he said it was his turn. He remembers sitting in the chair waiting for his turn shaking and saying to himself ‘I just gotta get the gold medal’. – Nash
- I asked Brenden what his favourite sport other than Para Swimming was. He said it is wheelchair rugby! – Meghan
- Brenden is also deaf in one of his ears and can only hear 30% in the other! – Gabe D
- I asked Brenden what his favourite meal/food is. Brenden told us it was pasta/carbs. He also told us ‘off the record’ his favourite was ice cream. Vanilla and cookies and cream! - Alona
Session 2 Tyan Taylor – Goalballer
- I learnt that the vision impairment that Tyan has doesn’t make her any different to us – Ryder C
- I found it interesting how they actually play Goalball. It looks fun and hard! – Dennis
- I found the glasses that Tyan showed us interesting (they showed us what it looks like to have vision impairment). – Charlotte
- I thought it was interesting that Tyan could see the ball even though she doesn’t have full vision - Brontee
- I found it interesting that Australia is most known for their Paralympic Athletics. I thought it would have been for Para Swimming. - James
Session 3 Eliza Ault-Connell – Wheelchair Racer
- Eliza showed us her hands! My hands were bigger than hers – Archie
- Her racing wheelchair was different! She even showed us her prosthetic leg! – Lacie
- I liked seeing her racing wheelchair. I think it looked really cool! – Kelsie
- I asked Eliza how many gold medals she had. Eliza showed us her own medals! She had bronze and silver medals. Her goal is to win a gold medal. - Bentley