Courtesy: Futsal 4 All


Futsal 4 all at the Nationals – Athletes with Disabilities

A nice writeup on the two exibition matches played by AWD at the Nationals

By Greg Brown (via Football NSW)

10/3/2010

The 2010 Futsal National championships in Canberra was an amazing time for athletes with a disability. New South Wales were represented by 2 sides (NSW Lightning and NSW Thunder) that played 2 exhibition games.

The competition was a spectacular success. The athletes were privileged to carry the flag into the stadium for the opening ceremony. The ceremony consisted of all the competing athletes marching into the arena in a long winding procession. The athletes were visibly moved as they marched into the packed Arena at the Institute of Sport and proudly belted out the National anthem.

However, we had no time to watch the opening games as we had to prepare for our opening game that evening at Mpowerdome. The game was a very fierce contest between the Thunder and Lightning played at a frenetic pace. When the dust had finally settled at the end of the game the Lightning had won by a score of 5 – 4.

The next day saw the return leg of the competition played at Tuggeranong. Once again the crowd was enthralled in a closely fought match. The action was played from end to end and when the game had concluded the score was locked at 6 – 6. In our 2 exhibition matches a single goal was all that separated the teams!

At the end of the competition I asked all the participants what they had got out of the competition; to a person they all said that they had had fun out of the event and made many new friends. This of itself is an outstanding result. However what it means for athletes with disabilities is so much more. The event showcased athletes with disabilities and produced a commitment from the organising committee to facilitate a full competition at next years Nationals. This is a remarkable achievement and one the athletes are really looking forward to.

To achieve these remarkable results a big thank you must go to some dedicated people who have strived to make athletes with disabilities a part of the Futsal community: Mr. Rob Varela from Football NSW Futsal has been inspirational in supporting the athletes and facilitating the events and Damian Briggs from Football NSW Futsal ensured that the athletes were part of the NSW team. A big thank you to these outstanding gentlemen.





Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com