Read our CEO, Jonny Wilkinson's regular column in
The Northern Advocate
"A different Light"
12th March 2016
As the name signifies, the column brings you a
different point of view.
Wonderful ‘good sorts’ rule the waves
It’s always a fantastic day with all participants – the ones having a go and the
ones facilitating it – having a ball.
Watching TV One in the early evening regularly makes me grimace.
Not, as you might imagine, because of Seven Sharp. Which can certainly provoke such a
reaction, what with the mealy mouthed Mike Hoskings , stating the fricken obvious in the
lectures he gives at the end of each cringing half hour or even Toni Whats-er-name who fell
from my grace with her artless quip recently in which she described herself as looking
“special” in a pic showing her without her make-up on.
No, it's because of the earlier feature at the tail end of the weekend news, 'Good Sorts'. I
grimace because it always makes me feel like a lazy twat. It’s sort of the
opposite to schadenfreude, a German word that describes the pleasure derived from the
misfortunes of others.
I feel stink about the greatness of those good sorts. These include dedicated poodles,
teenagers who have developed life-saving apps, teenagers who save lives, people who make
teenagers exercise. Actually teenagers feature a lot.
Last weekend I witnessed the real deal. It was the Tiaho Surf day at Ruakaka. This is a day
when a bunch of volunteers get together to give disabled people a go at surfing. It’s always
a fantastic day with all participants - the ones having a go and the ones facilitating it - having
a ball. It can be a high-risk event, taking people with complex disabilities out in the water.
However the risk is mitigated by the unassuming laidback leadership of veteran surfer Gary
Butt.
Gary is one of those guys who exudes a subtle positivity and aura of calm leadership that
puts everyone at ease and makes you feel like doing things - mainly doing whatever he asks
you.
So often with sports champions, while they don’t overtly skite about their accomplishments,
more often than not they use their sporting prowess as leverage for self-promotion.
Garry’s water sports prowess is punctuated throughout the decades: 1963 inaugural New
Zealand Junior Surf Champ at 14 years old; surf lifesaving Surf Ski National Champion three
consecutive years running…and his achievements go on, including those this Saturday
surrounded by a bunch of smiling, surfing youth who just happen to have disabilities.
And when you talk to Gary he rates Surf Day right up
there with his finest triumphs. It is the “smiles on the
faces” at Ruakaka that Gary waxed lyrical about when
sharing a quiet post surf beer at ours last weekend.
The diversity of helpers, including some of my old
surfing mates roped in, were smiling right along with
the young folk who caught a wave for the first time.
This is why Gary and his equally good sort wife, the
lovely Mary who ran H Q in the surf club, freely dedicate so much time and expertise to the
cause up and down the country.
Many people with disabilities feel alienated from the mastery of sports, particularly those
sports which have high cool and fear factor, like surfing. Rather than lording it over those
differently abled, Gary is a hugely empowering presence who supports the helpers and
suffers to surpass what they thought they could do.
So, along with the sun, the surf, the sizzling sausies, the certificates and the chilled bottles of
yummy flavoured milk (thanks, Primo) , the Tutukaka Surf Company, Halberg Trust, Tiaho,
Blomfield and NorthAble LYNKS staff, thanks Gary - you're a taonga for our community, and
a real 'good sort' .
Jonny Wilkinson is the CEO of Tiaho Trust – Disability: A Matter of Perception, a Whangarei-based
disability advocacy organisation.