Page 4494 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 30 October 2018
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An ACT local young lad, Dylan Schwarz, was awarded a bronze medal in an individual class.
I have been pleased to meet with and support the team, and especially to work closely with the president of ACT Boccia, Ms Corena Harrison, in the lead-up to this competition. Corena herself achieved a gold medal at the 2016 national titles, and has been selected in the emerging Tokyo 2020 Paralympic team. Corena has received financial support from the Layne Beachley Aim for the Stars scholarships, reflecting her passion and her skill for playing boccia.
Joining Corena in New Zealand were Dylan Schwarz, a young man who attends Alfred Deakin High and has cerebral palsy; and Mohgamat Hendricks, who has a spinal injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident. It was Dylan’s first time representing the ACT, and I would say that coming home with an individual bronze is an indication of his interest and his skill in the game. For Mohgamat, it was the second time he was able to represent our territory. We cannot forget Barry Yesberg, who travelled to New Zealand with the team as the coach. He has been the coach of ACT boccia for the past six years. I want to thank Barry for the efforts that he makes for his team.
Each time I have met with ACT Boccia, I have been inspired by their passion for and commitment to the sport. It is especially important to reflect on how this sport is opening up opportunities for social engagement and on the pride and dignity which comes from their success and their achievements. Boccia is a fantastic game which opens up many opportunities for people with a disability to share in the love of sport. It provides opportunities for social engagement. I am very pleased to have been able to assist this team and their successful tour of New Zealand.
All members of the ACT community should feel very proud of the success of ACT Boccia. On behalf of the ACT government and all in this place, I heartily congratulate Corena, Dylan, Mohgamat and Barry for their outstanding work.
Robogals
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (4.04): Women are constantly advocating for social, political and economic equality without their gender becoming a barrier to success. One professional field still largely dominated by men is engineering and technology. Canberra’s Morgan Marshall is on a mission to change that. In late September, I attended the Robogals Asia Pacific SINE 2018 awards and 10th anniversary celebration at the National Museum, on behalf of the minister for education. We celebrated the achievements of Robogals’ Asia Pacific chapters and volunteers and 10 years of Robogals as an organisation.
It was exciting and heartening to see Robogals Canberra not only win chapter of the year and best initiative awards but that its chapter’s outgoing president, Morgan Marshall, was named “legend of Robogals”, the highest honour for Robogals volunteers. I would like to extend a big congratulations to the whole Robogals Canberra team on their hard work and dedication in inspiring and engaging young girls who are interested in engineering and technology.
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