Olympia Shilpa Gerald
Event for MR and autism children
saw over 350 participants
—Photo:M. Moorthy
scoring smiles:Special children of Asha Deepam with the overall shield at the annual special children sports competition in Tiruchi.
TIRUCHI: They raced, they jumped, they laughed, they cried. While some had triumphant smiles writ on their faces, a few others were inconsolable after losing. Nothing out of place for a children's contest –but at this event, few forgot the task at hand, some did not register the victory at all, and others did not realise they were competitors.
Over 350 special children from nine schools in the city had a field day at the sixth annual Special Children Sports Meet (B.G. Naidu Trophy) organised by the Tamil Nadu Special Children Development Association (TNSCDA) at Anna Stadium on Saturday.
The event conducted exclusively for mentally retarded (MR) and autistic children has been revived after a year's lapse. It was not conducted last year due to shortage of funds. According to H. Simpson Rajkumar, the event was a platform for mentally challenged children to display their skills as they don't stand much of a chance when competing with other differently abled children. All participants were given prizes.
The day long event had 19 events, including 25 metres, 100 metres dash and 4x100 metres relay. While children below five enjoyed games like on the way to the market, kicking a ball and potato gathering, their older schoolmates showed off their skills at standing long jump and shot putt. Shuttle badminton, handball, throwball, tennikoit were open to all. Bocce, a ball sport was a new introduction this year.
Christy Kavitha, a special teacher from INTACT said, “Only children with mild MR could play by the rules. Newly admitted students were unaware that it was a competition. A whole day out and meeting hundreds of children like them made it an enjoyable experience for them.”
Roseline Francis, Special teacher at Asha Deepam felt such games were preparatory ground for Special Olympics. “Children who were initially hesitant, were motivated seeing others. Not all schools have huge grounds. The children got to play to their heart's content.”
In the MR category, Asha Deepam Special School (100) bagged the winners trophy, followed by Arivalayam (65) and Manasamithra Vidya Peetam (51). In the autism category, Manasamithra (75) took home the trophy, with Asha Deepam (61) and Arivalayam (47) following close.
M.A.Aleem, Vice-Principal, K.A.P. Vishwanathan College, inaugurated. S. Selvapandiyan, President, T.Meenatchi Sundaram, Vice-President spoke. S.Periyasamy, Managing Director, Venlac Paints, gave away prizes.
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