Auckland’s Chrissa Pearce has just returned from eight days at Outward Bound where she joined 11 other Special Olympics New Zealand athlete leaders on a course that saw the group traverse high ropes, scale rock faces and swim before sunrise on an adventure designed to help them discover their full potential.
Outward Bound course design manager Kelly Hamilton says that just like any Outward Bound course, the athlete leaders were given the opportunity to push their mental and physical limits and discover what they are truly capable of.
“While the group completed many of the same activities as a 21-day Outward Bound course, this co-designed course focussed specifically on what it means to be a great leader. The Special Olympics athlete leadership programme has an inspiring curriculum that Outward Bound supports by offering real life leadership experiences. It’s also a chance for Outward Bound to ‘give back’ to students who are very active in their communities,” says Kelly.
Chrissa, who is 31 and lives in St Mary’s Bay, is an active participant within Special Olympics as an athlete leader. She skis, swims, snowboards and plays basketball as well as being on the leadership team where she organises school events and does speaking engagements.
“I enjoy encouraging other people to try new things,” says Chrissa. “I help with school programmes and over lockdown I did things on social media like Zumba to encourage others to have fun and keep fit. I love meeting new people and making friends and I made lots at Outward Bound. I also learned new skills such as sailing and Waka Ama, which I really enjoyed. But I did find the alone time hard not having others to talk to because I love to talk!”
Special Olympics CEO Carolyn Young says Outward Bound’s ethos of ‘There is more in you’ reflects the spirit of the athletes.
“Our athlete oath is ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt’. Our athlete leaders from all over Aotearoa embody that spirit and we are delighted this course will provide them with skills, achievements and memories that they can bring back to inspire their Special Olympics whanau and communities.”
“While I found Outward Bound challenging emotionally and physically, it was lots of fun,” says Chrissa. “I’m proud of my achievements and would recommend the course to other people.”
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Published 2 July 2021