When Ella Yarndley graduated from the Special Olympics athlete leadership class at Parliament last week, she joined an elite group of Te Awamutu swimmers.
Ella Yarndley at Parliament with her Special Olympics athlete leadership graduation certificate and parents Scott and Jennie. Photo: Joe Serci.
But it nearly didn’t happen. She was struck down with an illness a few days out from the ceremony – but her tenacity and ability to organise herself meant she graduated with the other five athletes in Wellington.
Yarndley, who turns 23 next week, is the sixth graduate in nine years from Special Olympics Te Awamutu. The others were Stacey Parker, Portia Johnson, Matthew Smith, Tegan Crotty and Jarrod Gilbert.
She received her certificate from host Taupō MP Louise Upston, the Disabilities minister in the government.
Each of the six spoke about what being an athlete leader meant to them. At their initial workshop last year, they went through learning the guiding principles of athlete leadership, the Special Olympics mission and what makes it unique, the different roles that athlete leaders can play, and each developed an action plan for athlete leadership.
Ella Yarndley on the steps of Parliament with Rāwiri Hawker, Richard Langford, Katie McMillan, Tom Morland and Jack Rowe. Photo: Joe Serci.
Leaders speak in their communities and around New Zealand at seminars and conferences where they talk about intellectual disability, Special Olympics and their experiences.
Athletes who go through the training are qualified to apply to be a Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger. Counties athlete Grace Payne was early this year selected as New Zealand’s first athlete, hearing the news from the Special Olympics International chair Timothy, the son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. The programme is named after her husband Sargent Shriver, a former American diplomate, politician and activist.
Yarndley’s mentor was Shelley Blair – the Te Awamutu News person of the year in 2022 – who has been involved with her at swimming classes for 12 years.
“She’s a great girl – very confident and she loves helping others out in the pool.”
She is also Blair’s most elite swimmer, not bad when there are 20 in the Te Awamutu Special Olympics group.
“She is good at all four main swimming strokes – freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.”
Ella Yarndley joins Disabilities minister Louise Upston and Rāwiri Hawker, Richard Langford, Katie McMillan, Tom Morland and Jack Rowe in Parliament.
At a recent meet, Yarndley swam against male swimmers because she had been beating all the girls. Even then she came first equal, said Blair.
“She’s also confident enough to spread the words about Special Olympics.”
Yarndley, who attended Te Awamutu primary and intermediate schools before moving to Patricia Avenue School in Hamilton, works three mornings a week at a rest home and has been flatting in town where her organisational ability has been to the fore. She participates in programmes at Te Awamutu disability organisation Enrich Plus.
Her parents Scott and Jennie attended the graduation where Rāwiri Hawker, Richard Langford, Katie McMillan, Tom Morland and Jack Rowe also received their graduation certificates.
Ella Yarndley shows off the certificate with from left Special Olympics NZ Founder Grant Quinn, Disabilities minister Louise Upston, class mentor Ryan Smith and Special Olympics chief executive Fran Scholey. Photo: Joe Serci.
