Suzanne, picture second from the left, and a group of vision impaired athletes pose for a photo during a blind sport session at the Festival of Disability Sport in March 2021.
For our July spotlight piece, we spoke to volunteer Suzanne Hardie. Suzanne volunteers her time as a guide runner and is the Tauranga chapter leader for Achilles International, an organisation that supports athletes with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream running events.
Suzanne (pictured far right), Achilles International NZ co-founder Peter Loft (left) and a group of athletes at a prize giving dinner during their Wellington trip.
A former travel agent, Suzanne first became interested in the disability sports sector when she escorted a group of athletes with disabilities to the New York Marathon in 2015. Back home in NZ, she began volunteering as a guide in her spare time, aiding those with disabilities in running. After losing her job in the travel sector as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, Suzanne spent more time guide running, and was offered the opportunity to become chapter leader for Achilles Tauranga.
For Suzanne, volunteering involves a range of activities. Some days this might include guiding athletes who are training for an event, or accompanying them to social gatherings and activities. Suzanne also leads a weekly track session with a steadily growing group of athletes and guides, and coordinates various aspects of the Achilles Tauranga chapter’s activities. She also supports athletes to try out different sports, and recently coordinated a session with Sailability where participants had a go at sailing.
One of Suzanne’s favourite volunteering moments was when she travelled to Wellington with members of Achilles Tauranga to participate in the Round the Bays event. Athletes ran distances of up to 21kms, which was a massive achievement for many of the group.
Suzanne (left) pictured with a vision impaired athlete and guide at the “We Run the Night” event.
Suzanne says that the biggest challenge for her as a volunteer is not being able to support everyone who needs it, due to a lack of time and capacity. She is encouraged to see that there has been an increased number of volunteer guides joining the Tauranga sport disability community recently, but is always on the lookout for more volunteers to come and help members to get active.
When we asked Suzanne what motivates her to volunteer, she said that she enjoys being able to help others to get out and achieve their goals. Since becoming chapter leader at Achilles Tauranga, Suzanne has also retrained as support worker and is studying Sport and Exercise. One day, she hopes to turn her volunteering experience into a career in Sport and Disability.
Interested to know how you can volunteer within the blind and low vision community? Get in touch with the Blind Sport NZ team to find out more.
A group of Achilles athletes at a “Friday Float” session with the local Parafed and Hibiscus Surf School.
Suzanne with a group of Achilles Tauranga athletes and volunteers gather during a track session in May 2021.