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Blind Sports NSW is actively monitoring the latest advice on COVID-19 from the NSW Government, NSW Health, Sport Australia and the World Health Organisation. This Return to Sport Policy has been developed in accordance with NSW Government recommendations following the recent announcement from the Deputy Premier, Minister for Health and Acting Minister for Sport. The sole focus for Blind Sports NSW continues to be the health and safety of all participants, coaches, volunteers, staff and spectators as we adapt to the new COVID-safe environment.
Blind Sports NSW recognises the range of hygiene practices and spatial distancing requirements
that must be enforced to allow for the resumption of training sessions and small gatherings. The
following measures must be adhered to in order for activities to take place, with further guidelines
and restrictions outlined in the policy:
LATEST COVID-19
ADVICE FROM NSW
GOVERNMENT >
To download the full BSNSW Return to Sport Policy, please visit:
www.blindsportsnsw.com.au/news/blind-sports-nsw-releases-return
-to-sport-policy/
Blind Sports NSW Releases Return to Sport Policy
Edited by Sophie Milton
June 2020 edition of
THE VISION BULLETIN Blind Sports NSW
Inside this issue:
Return to Sport Policy 1
2020 Camp / NDIS update 2
Active Abilities Series 3
Vision Australia update 4
Multi Sports Days 4
Guide Dogs sessions 5
Inclusion Sports Media 5
Athlete Spotlight 6
Board announcement 6
Goalball / Golf updates 7
Partners & Contact Us 8
THE VISION BULLETIN
Page 2
Registrations Now Open for 2020 Education Camp Blind Sports NSW has been working closely with the NSW Department of Education to host the 2020 Vision Camp at Sydney Academy of Sport in Narrabeen. The camp is open to both primary and high school students with low vision from across NSW. Primary school students must be in year 5 or 6, with year 4 students considered on a case by case basis. A total of 45 students are invited to take part in the camp, supported by 15 staff members consisting of vision teachers, Blind Sports NSW staff and athlete mentors. The camp will be held from Monday 31st August - Friday 4th September at a cost of $500 per participant. This one-off cost is inclusive of all meals, accommodation and activities. The camp will involve a range of both social and recreation activities, as well as life skill and mentoring sessions. Off-site activities are designed to encourage participants to step out of their comfort zone and experience things such as indoor sky diving, aqua golf and rock climbing. For further information or to register, please visit: www.blindsportsnsw.com.au/events/49966/ Download the camp flyer here > Download the camp itinerary here > If you have any questions regarding the camp, please email Blind Sports NSW Program Manager, Sonja Balic at [email protected].
NDIS Funding Blind Sports NSW has applied for further funding through the NDIS Information, Linkages and Capacity Building grant. CEO, Murray Elbourn has applied for a further two years of funding support through the program that has allowed our organisation to be more flexible in its delivery of Summer and Winter Camps, assisting main stream and blind sport with more support and education. We are now eagerly awaiting the outcome and expect to be notified by July 2020 on the new funding agreement.
Page 3
Sport NSW recently announced the launch of its home Active Ability workout series for people with disabilities. When COVID-19 forced social isolation, especially for the at-risk community, Sport NSW felt compelled to lead in this space. During the early stages of COVID-19, Sport NSW Disability Inclusion Manager and Blind Sports NSW Chief Executive Officer, Murray Elbourn, identified a lack of online disability specific content despite the increasing general online exercise options for able-bodied people. In collaboration with Healthstin head Exercise Physiologist, Rachelle Sultana, and the team from Hustle Media who combined forces with eight incredible NSW-Australian physical, sensory and intellectual disability athletes, Sport NSW created The Active Ability sessions. The series features a 10-minute introductory, 15-minute intermediate and 30-minute sport participant level version that are specifically designed for the following disabilities:
- Low Vision/Blindness - Quadriplegia - Hard of Hearing/Deafness - Paraplegia - Autism - Acquired Brain Injury - Cerebral Palsy - Down Syndrome The athlete representative for the low vision videos is NSW and Australian Goalball player, Tyan Taylor (view full Blind Sports NSW news story with videos here). Murray and Rachelle hope that having sessions specifically designed for each disability by an athlete representing that disability will encourage greater participation post COVID-19 and build awareness around the lack of current options across the space. Murray will now promote this series to NDIS Delivery Organisations and conduct disability spectrum training to Health, Education, Government, Sport and Community providers. Healthstin Head Exercise Physiologist, Rachelle Sultana, is enthusiastic around the opportunity to create social boot camps from this series. Those boot camps will combine physical workouts plus a degree of social capacity building to improve physical and mental wellbeing for disability participants. This sessions will assist to improve NDIS plan discussions and encourage the greater disability community to get physical! The full range of videos can be viewed at Sport NSW YouTube - Active Ability Series.
Sport NSW Releases Active Abilities Series Featuring
Blind Sports NSW Representative, Tyan Taylor
THE VISION BULLETIN
Page 4
Vision Australia Partnership
Blind Sports NSW is signing a partnership with Vision
Australia to promote our sports and recreation services
through to Vision Australia clients. This is an exciting
breakthrough and something that has been a goal for
many years.
Blind Sports NSW CEO, Murray Elbourn and Program
Manager, Sophie Milton have recently been working
with Vision Australia and the Vocational Services – Employment team around possible job placement
projects which also attract job subsidy funding opportunities. This initiative will further define the
deliverable partnership that Blind Sports NSW and Vision Australia will have around the job seeker
space.
The partnership will provide ongoing placement opportunities enabling Vision Australia clients to receive
on-the-job training and mentoring within the industry. These opportunities will allow clients to build
strong communication and social skills which will have a key impact on developing job readiness. Blind
Sports NSW recently met with over 20 job seekers to discuss the benefits associated with sport and
recreation activities, as well as the vast range of career development opportunities available behind the
scenes. Murray has also been supported by NSW Goalball Chairperson, Tyan Taylor to discuss the
mentoring component and specific opportunities relating to building confidence around social inclusion
and vocational preparedness for their clients.
Blind Sports NSW is excited and committed to providing a strong delivery of service to Vision Australia
which supports their goals and objectives around Vocational and Education-Training services in support
of people with Low Vision and Blindness.
Blind Sports NSW Multi Sports Days
Blind Sports NSW is re-introducing monthly Multi Sports Days after being forced to cancel previous days due to COVID-19 restrictions. The following days have been confirmed and are taking place at ACPE in Sydney Olympic Park:
• Sunday 20th September
• Sunday 25th October
• Sunday 29th November To stay up to date with upcoming events and activities, please visit the Blind Sports NSW website calendar here:
www.blindsportsnsw.com.au/events/
Page 5
Blind Sports NSW is keen to continue working collaboratively with peak disability bodies in NSW across mentoring, vocational services and social recreation opportunities. In the past month of June, Blind Sports NSW CEO Murray Elbourn has conducted a training session with Guide Dogs NSW Hunter, Northern Rivers and New England regions to better understand social recreation opportunities for their clients. This is a wonderful opportunity for Blind Sports NSW to be more in tune with Orientation and Mobility Instructors and has led to another opportunity with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT asking Murray to present on July 13th to staff across the organisation. This session will also focus on social recreation and the opportunities for clients to be better supported through their NDIS plans for community sport and social participation. Blind Sports feels that working with these peak disability bodies will grow participation for sporting affiliates and recreation providers under the Blind Sports NSW Banner.
Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Orientation and Mobility Training
Inclusion Sports Media Update Blind Sports NSW has significantly increased its online presence following the new COVID-safe envi-ronment, with a range of new podcasts and videos. We are committed to developing further podcast episodes and video content post-COVID-19, as this is a great way for our members to stay connected and engaged with all things ’sport and recreation’ in the low vision community. In the coming weeks, we are working on new featured content including the following:
• History of Blind Cricket NSW
• History of Blind Golf NSW
• Episode 2 with Champion Surfer, Matt Formston
• Raiders Futsal “The story so far”
• Blind and Low Vision Tennis Update
• History of NSW Women’s Goalball
• History of NSW Youth and Junior Goalball
• Winter Sports Panel with Winter Paralympic Medallist Melissa Perrine
Listen on Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inclusion-sports-media/id1501460702 Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2075p9hYB9q3SAlXBYv8FR To find us, search ‘Inclusion Sports Media’ wherever you listen to your podcasts!
THE VISION BULLETIN
Page 6
This month’s Athlete Spotlight section features 12 year old athletics and swimming superstar, Layla Sharp. Layla was born with congenital Nystagmus and is currently being investigated for retinal dystrophies. Layla is coached by Ben St Lawrence and Graham Hand from Upcoaching, and she is a T12 athlete. Layla attends Emmaus Catholic College and is currently in Year 7. Her training involves four sessions a week focusing on running with her two coaches, in addition to her solo training on weekends which consists of bike riding and running, and soon to be swimming when that returns. At such a young age, Layla has already built up an impressive list of achievements including: • Breaking Australian (T12) Open Age record 3km • Australian (T12) Open Age record in 1500m • Australian (T12 under 20) record in 800m • Australian (T12 under 18) record in 400m • One of 3 chosen Captains for the NSW National team for Athletics in Darwin
2019 • State Level (S12) for Freestyle, Backstroke and Breaststroke • Sportsperson of the Year at Cambridge Park Primary for 2019 • ‘Peter Davis’ Outstanding award recipient for Sydney West 2019 • Para Athletics Champion, Para Swimming Champion, Para Cross Country
Champion for Primary 2019 • Dux of Cambridge Park Public Primary 2019. On top of all of Layla’s sporting achievements, she wrote two fiction books in Year 6 and donated to school and teachers that were part of her primary educational journey. Blind Sports NSW would like to congratulate Layla on all that she has accomplished to date, and we are sure with her commitment and dedication, we will see her representing both NSW and Australia for many years to come.
Athlete Spotlight: Layla Sharp
Layla at NSW Open
Blind Sports NSW Welcomes New
Board Member
Jason Stubbs at NCICs in Geelong
Blind Sports NSW would like to welcome Jason Stubbs onto the Board of Directors, following his appointment from the recent Annual General Meeting. Jason has been heavily involved in blind sports for a number of years, with strong links to cricket, futsal and swimming. The Blind Sports NSW Board looks forward to working with Jason and believes his experience within the sector will provide valuable insight as the organisation strives to enhance community access and participation opportunities for members of the low vision community.
Layla with Para Awards
Page 7
NSW Goalball is back! NSW Goalball are happy to announce that they are back on court after having to postpone their season due to COVID-19. Throughout lockdown, NSW Goalball members teamed up with Victoria Goalball to participate in weekly Zoom meetings that focused on creative ways to develop skills and maintain fitness levels. It was important to keep members connected socially during such challenging times and promote physical health while in lockdown. The Sydney HUB members are very excited to be back out on court, with the Hunter HUB soon to re-open as well. The NSW Goalball City Cup will recommence on Saturday 4th July at ACPE (10 Parkview Drive, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127). For more information, please visit www.goalball.com.au or email: [email protected] for further training and program details.
NSW Goalball Update
Blind Golf NSW Update
Blind Golf NSW are back in the swing of things with their domestic games starting up again at Barnwell Park Golf Course as of Saturday 6th June. All participants are adhering to strict social distancing rules along with other COVID-19 restrictions, as outlined in the Blind Sports NSW Return to Sport Policy. The postponed Australian National Blind Stableford Championships to be held in Adelaide during May have now been rescheduled to take place in conjunction with the Western Australian Blind Golf Open Championships in Perth, pending border restrictions. The postponed Queensland Blind Golf Championships scheduled for July on the Gold Coast have been rescheduled to October, with the NSW Blind Golf Open Championships still scheduled to be played at the Liverpool Golf Club in November 2020. At this stage, interstate activities are all pending Government advice regarding border closures. The World Blind Golf Championships and South African Blind Golf Championships to be played in Cape Town, South Africa have been postponed. Both events have been rescheduled to take place in April 2023, dependent on reopening of international borders.
CONTACT US & Affiliates of Blind Sports NSW:
Blind Sports NSW: Sonja: 0421 761 689
Email: [email protected]
Address: PO Box W292, Parramatta NSW 2150
Website: www.blindsportsnsw.com.au
Blind Golf NSW: [email protected] (sighted caddies needed)
Blind Cricket NSW: [email protected]
NSW Goalball: [email protected]
THE VISION BULLETIN, June 2020 Edition
Blind Sports NSW is pleased to announce that we have found our new
Program Manager!
Sonja Balic has competed on the Tennis ITF Pro Tour for 6 years and
achieved a career high ranking of #58 in Australia. She has recently
completed her Master of Sports Management degree at the University
of Technology, Sydney. Throughout Sonja’s sporting and academic
career, she has been involved with community tennis coaching and
events. She also managed the UTS Tennis Team at the Unisport
Nationals competition in 2018 and 2019.
Blind Sports NSW is thrilled to have Sonja on board, and her passion
for inclusion sport will make her an incredible asset to the team!
Blind Sports NSW Welcomes New Program Manager
Sponsors & Partners
