Special Olympics Torch Flame Goes To Tauranga

Police and Special Olympics athletes from the Tauranga club are poised for a walk which starts at the Waka on The Strand at 1pm on Saturday 29 October to support the nationwide Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR).

The walk is poised to head from The Strand onto Devonport Road, travel via Elizabeth, then Grey Streets, back towards the waterfront by the Soundshell.

The Freemasons New Zealand Special Olympics National Summer Games are being held from 8 to 12 December in Hamilton. A contingent of New Zealand Police will walk alongside Special Olympics local athletes and carry the ‘Flame of Hope’ this Saturday for Tauranga and other Bay of Plenty athletes.

The flame symbolises courage, celebrates diversity, and unites communities around the globe with over 97,000 law enforcement members carrying the ‘Flame of Hope’ at events annually.

Inspector Mark Harrison, chair of the LETR New Zealand Charitable Trust and New Zealand LETR director, says “The ‘Flame of Hope’ represents courage, opportunity and equality and represents LETRs mission of engaging law enforcement worldwide to be champions for acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities”.

Sergeant Anna Plowman of Tauranga Police is proud to be involved in this leg of the torch journey and says, “We are really happy to support an awesome event like this and we’re wishing all the amazing athletes the best and good luck for the competition”.

Special Olympics chief executive Carolyn Young is excited to see the nationwide Law Enforcement Torch Run weaving its way around the country and reaching Tauranga this week to mark the final countdown to the National Summer Games.

“Our clubs have been building up to our pinnacle event for five years, and the LETR is a wonderful way to raise awareness around the country and to get everyone excited about the National Summer Games,” says Young.

“We are very grateful to the New Zealand Police for being such a fantastic partner in this event for so many years and we hope the people of Tauranga and the rest of the country will come out in numbers to show their support for our athletes.”

The torch will be travelling through most major centres in New Zealand in the next two months.

To find out more about the Special Olympics National Summer Games visit www.SpecialOlympics.org.nz(link is external).

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