Inspiring children with a physical disability into sport and developing confidence and social interaction is the aim of some Otago high-performance athletes.
A gathering to gauge interest in competing at the Junior Disability Games in Cambridge next year was held at the Otago Sports Institute and hosted by Parafed Otago.
Parafed Otago sports manager Kieran Wall said he hoped the information evening would catch the attention of children who might otherwise not play or have confidence in sport.
''It's really the only opportunity they get to participate against their peers of similar ability. It's the one big event they can work towards,'' Mr Wall said.
He hoped some of the children would be inspired to ''push towards international level'' by hearing from athletes who had been on the world stage before.
''I think it's about the opportunity to inspire them, to make them see that other people have [been] down this path.
''There's people here who will support them,'' Mr Wall said.
He hoped to take up to 18 children to the games in Cambridge in April, across a range of sports.
Athletes recently returned from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Qatar were on hand to share their experiences with the children.
One of those was sprinter and long jumper Anna Grimaldi who said it was ''pretty cool'' to be able to be involved in getting disabled children into sports.
Liam Wilson attended the meeting to find out about the Junior Disability Games.
He said his favourite sport was football and he hoped to get ''some good stuff'' from the older athletes.
