Organisers were impressed with the participation after only two years since the games’ inception.
"I AM is quite a new entity itself," Inclusive Activity Murihiku chair and trustee Kerryn Douglas said.
"We've been going for about four years and the I AM Games has been going for two years.
"So having seen that growth from 64 last year to 77 children this year is amazing."
The second edition of the award-winning, two-day festival sprung into action last Saturday in Invercargill and again focused on providing quality opportunities for young disabled people and their families to try a range of new sports and activities.
"The most exciting thing is all the whanau that are out there supporting are having a go as well."
The McDowall family embraced the games and believed it was just as important that they took part.
"The games are humbling. Sometimes Darcy feels excluded at school, but it’s nice to be here where there’s no judgement and she can just have fun," her mother, Shayna McDowall, said.
This year the games followed a similar format to last year, with Saturday taking in a range of venues around Invercargill including Y Southland, Southland Cricket, Swimming Southland, Deep South Archery, hockey, basketball and netball and the velodrome at ILT Stadium Southland, with buses moving participants around.
The second day was based at ILT Stadium Southland and included opportunities such as Clip ’n’ Climb, boccia, Ki-o-Rahi, athletics, football, Snag Golf, croquet and badminton.
"It’s cool that we, the parents, and his other siblings could join in as well," his father, Alex Moynihan, said.
His son, Luca, 8, confidently stated that his own skills at Ki-o-Rahi were "pretty good".
This year’s I AM Games had been timed to follow on from the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
