Special games at Shaw Park

SOTT head football coach Fitzroy Edwards tests the ball before the start of the female individual football skills competition.
SOTT head football coach Fitzroy Edwards tests the ball before the start of the female individual football skills competition.

OVER 75 athletes from the Tobago School for the Deaf, Happy Haven and Tobago Technical Vocational School, participated in the third annual Special Olympics Tobago Games recently. The Games created a platform for the athletes to showcase their skills in athletics, bocce and football, at the Shaw Park grounds.

Assemblyman Marisha Osmond, assistant secretary in the Office of the Chief Secretary, congratulated the Special Olympics of TT (SOTT) for its hard work and dedication in providing an opportunity for athletes with intellectual disabilities living in Tobago, to display their skills, said a media release.

Students from the Tobago Technical Vocational Centre, ‘Tobago Speech Band’ perform a cultural folk item.

The Tobago games fall within the SOTT’s community training programme.

The event is one of three strategies to build awareness around people with intellectual disabilities and recruit new athletes and coaches for SOTT. The programme started in 2015, with Digicel Foundation investing over $800,000 over the past three years.

Diana Mathura Hobson, the foundation’s project co-ordinator, delivered greetings, and wished the team all the best as they prepare for the 2019 World Games in Abu Dhabi. She encouraged everyone to open their hearts to accept the challenges and work towards an inclusive society, where no one is left behind.

Athletes from Happy Haven, Tobago School for the Deaf and Tobago Technical Vocational Centre assemble for the opening of the games.

SOTT national director, Ferdinand Bibby, in his address hailed the athletes as the real VIPs of the day, challenging them to continue to be brave and determined in their efforts to overcome. He thanked the foundation for coming on board as not only as sponsors but also as partners.

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