Police and Special Olympics athletes from the Counties, Howick and Pakuranga club are poised for a walk around the Manukau Velodrome on Saturday 15 October at 10am, to support the nationwide Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR).
The Freemasons New Zealand Special Olympics National Summer Games are being held from 8 to 12 December in Hamilton. A contingent of New Zealand Police will walk alongside Special Olympics local athletes and carry the 'Flame of Hope' this Saturday.
The flame symbolises courage, celebrates diversity, and unites communities around the globe with over 97,000 law enforcement members carrying the 'Flame of Hope' at events annually.
Inspector Mark Harrison, chair of the LETR New Zealand Charitable Trust and New Zealand LETR director, says: "The 'Flame of Hope' represents courage, opportunity and equality and represents LETRs mission of engaging law enforcement worldwide to be champions for acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities."
Acting Inspector Anson Lin, Area Prevention Manager of Counties Manukau East is proud to be involved in this leg of the torch journey and says: "We are honoured to be supporting such a terrific event and we're wishing our amazing athletes the best and hope they enjoy the games."
Special Olympics chief executive Carolyn Young is excited to see the nationwide Law Enforcement Torch Run weaving its way around the country and reaching Manukau this week to mark the final countdown to the National Summer Games.
"Our clubs have been building up to our pinnacle event for five years, and the LETR is a wonderful way to raise awareness around the country and to get everyone excited about the National Summer Games," says Young.
"We are very grateful to the New Zealand Police for being such a fantastic partner in this event for so many years and we hope the people of Manukau and the rest of the country will come out in numbers to show their support for our athletes."
The torch will be travelling through most major centres in New Zealand in the next two months.
