Amy Henderson is one of 11 Geelong gymnasts who will travel to Launceston to compete at the Special Olympics National Games in October.
For Amy, who lives with cerebral palsy, it will be her first experience competing as part of a sporting team.
“It’s my first time ever being in a team, and that’s fantastic,” she said.
“I’ve never been in a team before in my whole life, so I feel very special being a part of that. It’s amazing. It’s like a family.”
From October 17 to 21, more than 1000 athletes with intellectual disabilities will travel to Launceston to compete in 15 different sports.
Of the 15 gymnasts selected to represent Victoria at the games, 11 hail from the greater Geelong region and train at Jets Gymnastics in Grovedale.
Amy’s mum Judy said she was extremely proud of her daughter’s effort and dedication to the sport.
“It tremendous, it’s great for her to be out there doing a sport,” she said.
“We started gymnastics for physical therapy, to build core strength, but she’s enjoyed it so much, got involved in the club and got to know everyone, which has been great socially.
“She trains every Saturday, and does extra sessions every other Sunday for a couple of hours, which is fairly intense.
“It’s wonderful for her to be a part of something like this, to achieve what she has, and for her to look forward to something so much.”
One of the things Amy is looking forward to most is getting her official Victorian Special Olympics uniform, which she will receive shortly before the team’s send-off at the MCG in October.
“She’s pretty excited about getting her uniform, she can’t wait,” Judy said.
“We don’t know what it looks like yet, and it’s supposed to be a secret when she gets it, so she doesn’t know how she’s going to handle that.”
Amy, who will be performing routines on the bars, floor, vault and beam said she can’t wait to represent Victoria at the games.
“I’ve never been to a national competition in my whole life,” she said.
“The fun thing for me is trying my best and just being there. I just love being there.”
Judy said a fundraising page set up to help raise money for the athletes to reduce their costs to compete had surpassed all expectations, and Amy was very thankful to everyone who had donated.
“Amy was very emotional and excited about the money people had donated, she cried when she saw how much had been raised just for her,” she said.
“I know Amy can’t thank people enough for making those donations.”
