Special Olympics Basketball Nelson

Special Olympics Basketball Nelson Special Olympics provides healthy, active lifestyle options for those in our community living with a disability, in our case, that is basketball.

Training at Nayland College, 6pm to 8pm every Wednesday, year-round.

04/06/2026

Kia ora to the wider whanau.

In response to our growth in athlete numbers, we are making the following changes to practice times. The direct outcome we are seeking to achieve is more court time for all athletes and to allow the A team to train at pace.

I believe the best solution is as follows. Let's trial this for a month and then review.

These changes may not suit everyone, but at heart I believe this will create better outcomes for ALL athletes.

One key driver is/was to keep this special community together, but also enable to B grade to lift their skill sets more easily

So what are the changes:

What is currently a B grade team, will be split (back) into a B and C grade teams. These two teams will train from 5.30 pm to 7 pm at Nayland College Gym on Wednesdays.

We will have our weekly meeting in between both practice sessions.

The A team will train from 7 pm to 8.30 pm, same location, same day of the week

Two A grade players will also be assigned each week to support both coaches: Claire (B grade) and Dean (C grade).

Can the three coaches please work with your squads to come up with a team name for each team, rather than A, B and C.

Just a reminder, it is impossible to please everyone. And we are trialling this for one month. But this new option will allow us to keep growing

Special thanks to Nayland College (as always) for accommodating our changing needs. This level of support is amazing; we remain extremely grateful.

Any questions, please email me on [email protected] or phone me.

Nga mihi / Stu

Special Olympics Nelson BasketballSignificant Achievement for two of our Athletes!Fresh back from the Special Olympic Na...
21/05/2026

Special Olympics Nelson Basketball
Significant Achievement for two of our Athletes!

Fresh back from the Special Olympic Nationals in Christchurch last December, where the Special Olympics Nelson Basketball squad returned home with Bronze medals, two of our long-term senior athletes (Suzy and Shannon) were invited to trial for the Whaikaha Basketball Trust.

The trial was staged in Wellington, 10 to 12 April 2026. Through sheer talent, focus, drive and discipline, both Suzy Yadav and Shannon Brandford have now been selected into this unique New Zealand basketball squad.

The Whaikaha Basketball squad is an official Basketball New Zealand team. It creates a nationally recognised elite squad and breaks through the glass ceiling, creating a new elite level for talented Basketball players with intellectual impairments.

Funded by Basketball NZ, Suzy and Shannon will travel to Ballarat in Australia for a two-week training camp every January. In November 2026, they will travel to Bangkok to compete in New Zealand colours, and in 2027 (if selected), they will then travel to Cairo.

Everyone within Special Olympics Nelson, at all levels are so extremely proud.

Quote from head coach Graeme Porter, Special Olympics Nelson Basketball Head Coach
I’ve been playing alongside Suzy and Shannon for at least ten years. In my first year coaching, it is an amazing feeling to see the talents of these two (really close friends) recognised. And everything they learn on their travels will be returned to Nelson; we all win.

Quote from Wendy Littlejohn, Special Olympics Nelson Regional Coordinator
From 42 Special Olympics clubs nationally, to have two athletes selected into a squad of ten is remarkable.
It sends a clear message to all of our athletes: with focus, drive, and discipline, success is possible. It is wonderful to see these pathways and opportunities opening up through Special Olympics.

Quote from Stuart Allan, Special Olympics Nelson, Basketball Manager.
Huge congratulations to both Suzy and Shannon. This dual selection is theirs, and theirs alone. But like all lovely stories like this, there is typically an extended line-up of volunteers (the community tapestry) behind this achievement. You can all pat yourselves on the back.

Many years ago, we recognised that the benefits for our athletes extended beyond basketball. The fact is, we are a community, and the love of basketball is the glue that holds it all together. For this reason, we train year-round (special thanks to Nayland College) and the longstanding sponsors that we have. With their support, we have had more opportunities to travel to competitions, which translates into more game time and experiences for our athletes.

21/05/2026

Kia ora to the whanau.

Special Olympics Nelson (Golf) are looking for a new volunteer golf coach, we have 11 golfers who typically practice (currently) on a Thursday afternoon.

If you know of anyone you might be able to shoulder-tap, please email me on [email protected]

22/04/2026

Morena Folks.
We are all confirmed to be back at Nayland College from 6pm next Wednesday (29 April)
Nga mihi / Stu

15/04/2026

Kia ora to the whanau.
No practice tonight. Find another way to get some exercise tonight.
Next week at Garin College from 7p, then back to normal.
Any issues, call me.
Nga mihi, Stu

19/01/2026

Hey Folks, training retarts tomorrow at 6 pm, be good to catch up again, Thanks Stu

And our Basketball squad got to warm up (for a match against Auckland) with a stack of the Crusaders, many also Tasman M...
17/12/2025

And our Basketball squad got to warm up (for a match against Auckland) with a stack of the Crusaders, many also Tasman Mako players - thanks guys, amazing ambassadors each of you.

Morena Folks - apologies for the lack of comms. Just back from the Nationals in Christchurch and our Basketball squad pr...
17/12/2025

Morena Folks - apologies for the lack of comms. Just back from the Nationals in Christchurch and our Basketball squad proudly returned with Bronze medals.

Reliably, our Basketball leadership team of Graeme, Shannon, Suzy and Oscar really stood up, supporting five players who experienced the Nationals for the first time, so we a building depth very well.
An amazing experience for all of our athletes.
Our coaches and managers of Dean and Rachael, also excelled in supporting our athletes.

Special thanks to our sponsors, your support enabled our athletes to be well prepared: Nelson Pine Industries, OPSM, Scott Construction, NZ King Salmon, Stu Allan, NBS Community, Bowater Toyota and Daniel Allen Photography.

Nayland College, thank you all over again for allowing us access to your gym for training for 10+ years, we remain very grateful.

The wider Nelson club (across all sports) represented Nelson extremely well with a bus-load of medals.

Wendy Littlejohn also excelled in leading the wider Nelson squad of 52 people, lovely to have Wendy's experience at the helm.

Our Basketball training starts again at 6p on Wednesday, 21 January at Nayland College.

Graeme Porter is also hanging up his boots after 22 years in Special Olympics Basketball for Nelson, to take over as the Head Coach, a lovely transition from player to coach. We all wish you well, mate.

From all of us to all of you - Merry Christmas, be safe, but it's time for some rest and some family time.

24/11/2025

Morena Folks,

An excellent trip to Greymouth two weeks ago, a really good stretch for both Nelson and West Coast squads.

In only two weeks, we are all boarding the bus for the national summer games in Christchurch 10-14 Dec.
It has come around fast, but we've trained hard for it, athletes, it's now time to focus on stretch and flexibility.

Keep up your hill walking, stay honest with yourself re the right foods to eat - you can do what you like, after the nationals.

See you tomorrow night for our 2nd to last training before we head into the big-time games.

Nga mihi / Stu

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