No slowing down despite big milestone

While there’s time to celebrate the region sending the biggest team in history to the Halberg Games this year, the work isn’t over for those behind the scenes.

With ambitions to continue growing the space, offering more and more locals a chance to play, compete and create memories with their peers, it hasn’t come without a monumental effort to get them there.

After Neisha Kindley travelled to the games with her son Joel and family in 2023 alongside two other local families, she decided to become the driving force behind Able Tasman Kids, which has seen exponential growth.

With 15 attendees and their families from the region at the games this year, the afterglow of the event hasn’t quite worn off, she says.

“No one knows what the event is like until you’re there.

“You can’t quite fathom how much it means to have people cheering for their kid with a disability all weekend.”

The Halberg Games are a three-day national sports festival hosted in Auckland that’s open to young people aged 8-21 with a physical or visual impairment.

And Neisha says this year’s team is only the start of what she hopes will continue to grow into something even bigger in the years to come.

She says the event is loved almost universally by attendees, and it shouldn’t be contained to their small group.

“I think we’ve found the start of a community, it means that together we can take action to improve inclusion and accessibility. We know it’s a gap.

“There are more families and kids that should be part of this.”

While the Halberg Games are still in the rearview mirror, Neisha and the dedicated group of volunteers and organizers are not slowing down.

A South Island edition of the games is held in Christchurch in October, with ambitions to bring an even bigger team with reduced barriers to entry, like travel.

There are also plans to reintroduce wheelchair basketball as a league, with a trailer to transport the equipment needed to get it rolling.

Neisha says none of what they achieved would have been possible without the community members who supported their vision.

From the crowd at the Nelson Giants giving the team a standing ovation during quarter-time entertainment to the local businesses and people who donated, the support did not go unnoticed.

While there are too many to thank in print, with plans for a surprise ‘thank you’ on Nelson Airport’s signage, Neisha wanted to give special mention to the Nelson Lions Club, together with the TDC, who were big driving forces to make it a reality.