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Almost 100 people, including
more than 30 learning disabled athletes and over 30 judo players
without learning disabilities, will come together at Claverham
Community College in Battle for the annual Regional Summer Judo
Camp hosted by Special Olympics Hasting & Rother and Westerleigh
Judokwai from 30th July to 1st August 2010.
Four teams hailing from
the South West, East Midlands, Southern, and South East regions
will compete in Judo as well as in various team building events.
“The camp is for athletes with and without learning disabilities.
Westerleigh Judokwai is the only judo club in the county with
over 100 members, it specializes in integrating disabled athletes
into mainstream judo. The club has mixed training sessions
every week and the camp has always been a mixed camp. It’s
total inclusion, everybody can do every activity,” said event
organiser Paula Everest.
“Events throughout the
weekend will include Judo, assault courses, swimming, sumo suits,
and a lot of fun events with water,” Paula shared.
The event, which is
in its 13th year, will be supported by a group of enthusiastic
volunteers, including four volunteers from National Grid , Special
Olympics GB’s official partner since 2007. Hastings Lion’s Club
volunteers will also show their support, along with Coca-Cola
that will be providing refreshments for the athletes.
Local businesses are also showing their support to the camp: Southern
Water will be supplying refillable water coolers;
whilst the Bull Inn is providing
the hog roast for the evening.
Former Mayoress of Hastings
and president of Westerleigh Judokwei , Councillor Maureen Charlesworth,
will attend the event as she does every year. Special Olympics
GB’s Vice Chairman and Sailing Olympics Bronze medallist 1968,
Paul Anderson will also attend this year, as well as British Judo
Association Regional Development Officer Steve Hammond.
Two Special Olympic athletes
competing in the event are Hollie Tadman and
James Everest, both are from Hastings and Rother
(South East) and will represent Great Britain at the 13th Special
Olympics World Summer Games to be held in Athens, Greece 25 June
– 4 July, 2011. Tadman won gold at the National Summer Games in
2009, and Everest won Silver at the national games in 2005 and
in 2009. It will be both athletes' first time competing in the
world games.
“At the end of the day,
it’s an event we host every year where people with and without
learning disabilities can come together. They appreciate
each other and learn a lot from one another. Everyone will
go home totally exhausted having had an amazing weekend,” said
Paula Everest.
Special Olympics South
East is one of 19 regional programmes of Special Olympics Great
Britain, the country’s leading provider of sports training and
competition opportunities for all people with learning disabilities.
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