The 33rd special sports day will be at the Youth and Community Centre, located behind the heated pool.

The day will start with morning tea at 9.30am followed by the popular group march past to music by bagpiper Brian Tisdell.

Sports include all-age walking races, three-legged races, relay races, novelty dress-up races, captain ball, tunnel ball, overhead ball and games including musical chairs.

Organiser Di Decker said in a letter to the Advocate this week that athletes travelled every year to attend from Dubbo, Orange, Cowra, Condobolin, Young, Parkes and Forbes. 

“Our Special Sports Day began in the Year of the Disabled in 1981 as I recognised that there were no opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sports,” she said.

In the early years the sports day was held outdoors at Spooners Oval.

“In the beginning we included wheelchair sports as well, we had swimming in the heated pool, bowls at the RSL,” she said.

“We also had field archery, shot put and javelin events, plus pretty wild wheelchair basketball games and of course wheelchair marathons.”

Some of these athletes became so successful they no longer needed to travel to Forbes, but there was still a need for the event.

“There was still a special strong group of intellectually disabled who came to me and asked if we would continue to organise the Special Sports Days for them as there was just no opportunity for them to compete or socialise,” Mrs Decker said.

This year’s event is looking good but with a change of venue due to the upgrade work at Red Bend Catholic  College.

Mrs Decker says she looks forward to seeing many of the athletes return year after year to the sports day. 

“They were and are a fabulous and positive bunch and I still have contact with many and am very proud of their achievements,” she said.

“Now my daughter Olivia and her Irish friend Rose Magill referee the wheelchair basketball in Sydney and up and down the coast. 

“Errol Hyde - one of our first wheelchair athletes - met the girls at a match in Sydney recently and when introduced to her, instantly recognised Olivia from a little girl coming along with her mum.

“He went on to travel the world playing wheelchair tennis and was fierce basketball player, then set up his own business making wheel chairs.”