That moment when your name is announced over the loud speaker, everyone is cheering and you cross that finish line with a mix of relief, achievement and bewilderment that you made it at all.
For the rest of the afternoon all you want to do is talk about what has just happened with anyone who will listen and when all is over and everyone starts to head home, you begin to think about how much harder you will train next year — it is a sure sign that you have been bitten by the triathlon-bug.
For months leading up to the HVDRT TriAbility Triathlon (TriAbility), people throughout the Hutt Valley and beyond were out on their bikes, swimming laps and braving the notorious windy conditions of Wellington, in preparation for the New Zealand’s first fully inclusive multisport event. The HVDRT TriAbility Triathlon is an event that supports people with various degrees of physical, intellectual, developmental, neurological and sensory abilities.
TriAbility is not an event just for disabled people, but rather an event for all abilities and a chance to compete side-by-side as part of a larger social change campaign to shift attitudes and change behaviours towards disabled people within our communities. Two repeat entrants and clients of the Hutt Valley Disabled Resources Trust (HVDRT), Matthew Graham and Elias Rice, talk about their experience.
“My biggest achievement was beating Susan and Ray,” claimed Matthew. It wasn’t the fact that Matthew had increased his fitness level by tramping in the Rimutaka Forrest Reserve for hours on end every week, or that he confident enough to completed two sections of the triathlon unsupported, or that he managed to convinced his Mum to join in with his triathlon journey; it was that he was able to beat Susan and Ray. The ‘Susan and Ray’ that Matthew proudly boasts about are actually, Susan Gary, CEO of HVDRT and His Worship the Mayor Ray Wallace of Lower Hutt who were members of Team Tri-Again.
Being the great sportsperson that Mayor Ray Wallace is, has even accepted Matthew’s challenge to compete against him in the 2016 HVDRT TriAbility Triathlon and it is rumoured that the Mayor may have a go at doing a triathlon as an individual.
However, Matthew is now in two minds about whether he will re-enter TriAbility or be involved as a volunteer. As a client of HVDRT, Matthew had a volunteering opportunity to do a lot of the manual work involved in setting up the event. TriAbility event manager Charlie Holland said that having strong young people like Matthew made this year’s preparation a whole lot easier, “Matthew and others included in the volunteering crew help load the trailers, set up the marquees, lift tables and shift a lot of equipment. The skills that Matthew has learnt through being an event volunteer are transferable skills that may help him towards gaining employment in the future. Matthew has volunteered in many community events as a HVDRT client volunteer and I believe that his enthusiasm and willingness to help out are very amicable qualities.”
Elias Rice, another client of HVDRT, was adamant that the triathlon was “easy” and “no sweat” and to those who saw him crossing the finish line, you would think he was right. Elias left his 2014 TriAbility team members, who just happen to be Susan Gray and Mayor Ray Wallace to have a go at competing as a supported individual in the Valley Distance category.
Elias enticed his Dad to enter with him as his support and said that much of their training consisted of walking up hills. Even though it was also his Dad’s first triathlon, Elias did point out that he had to “wait for Dad to catch up.” When asked what his next goal in TriAbility would be, Elias didn’t hesitate in saying, “I want to do it by myself,” and without any support — but still wanted to train with Dad.
Words: Charlie Holland, Projects Manager for Hutt Valley Disabled Resources Trust.