Medal: 21st Summer Deaflympics, Taipei 2009

The medal memorabilia from Taiwan was donated to Manawatu Deaf Society by Annette Hansen, a life member of the Club. She attended the Taipei Deaflympics as the Chef de Mission for the New Zealand Deaflympics team. The country sent 5 athletes – Daniel Carruthers (cycling), Alex Field (swimming), Michael Lynch (karate), Emma Paton (table tennis), Kerry Titcombe (karate).

Annette was an Executive member of Deaf Sports Federation of New Zealand. She was also a Team Manager for the New Zealand team attending the Australian Deaf Games in Queensland 2008 (Gold Coast) and Geelong in Victoria 2012.

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NZSL story – Taonga source: Shona McGhie

From Supporter to Secretary: Shona McGhie’s NZDSA Story

Shona McGhie shares how she became involved with the NZ Deaf Sports Association after attending the 1981 World Deaf Games in Köln as a supporter. Excited by the atmosphere, she was invited by Norman to observe an NZDSA executive meeting – just as they were searching for a new secretary, with Margaret Coutts joining the organising committee for the upcoming 1989 Games. Although nervous, Shona accepted the challenge. It was a full-on time, working with green-and-black screen computers, fax machines, and letters – well before the digital age. With the 1989 World Deaf Games on the horizon, it was a particularly busy era, but one Shona embraced with dedication until stepping down in 1996.