S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host Sam Colley.
S2: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision. This is something that we called attention
S2: to a couple of weeks ago. No b-1s, no totally
S2: blind athletes selected from Australia. And that's. I think that's
S2: a crying shame considering we are blind athletes then. So yeah,
S2: if you are listening out there, you're young enough and
S2: you feel inspired, then get out there, find yourself a
S2: guide runner and you know, give it a red hot go.
S2: Welcome to the program. This week we're gearing up for
S2: the Paralympics on Talking Vision as I catch up with
S2: Sam Rickard, the host of studio One and four time
S2: Paralympian to have a chat with me about the upcoming games.
S2: That conversation is coming up very shortly, so make sure
S2: to stay tuned. Then after you hear from Sam, I'll
S2: catch up with Belinda Wilson from the Children and Young
S2: People Programs team at Vision Australia to tell us about
S2: the Leap program and a bunch of other programs available
S2: for children and young people who are blind or have
S2: low vision. And then we wrap up with a reader
S2: recommended and a little bit of news and information. I
S2: hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Over
S2: the next two weeks, from the 28th of August to
S2: the 8th of September, the Paralympics will be taking place
S2: over in Paris and to have a chat with me
S2: all about them. I'm joined today by our resident Paralympian
S2: and athletics expert, Sam Rickard, a voice quite familiar to
S2: quite a lot of you, as well as one of
S2: the hosts of Studio One. Sam, welcome back to Talking Vision.
S2: Great to have you again. Oh, nice to be back. Now,
S2: we had you earlier in the year around April time with, um,
S2: 100 K your way as you were making your way
S2: to 100km in your own time and in your own way, running,
S2: ambling along. Yes, yes. And now we're back on a
S2: bit of an athletic theme as well as the Paralympics
S2: are coming up very, very shortly. In fact, as this
S2: goes to where it's kicking off overnight, our time. So. Yeah.
S2: How are you feeling you bit excited. Bit nervous to
S2: see how everyone goes. The funny thing is, I mean
S2: because it was a part of my life for so long.
S2: I always get this nagging feeling I should be somewhere
S2: else when I'm sort of sitting at home, sort of
S2: doing all this, even to this day. I mean, I've
S2: been retired for longer than I've been competing, but it's
S2: still there's this sort of like nagging thing of should
S2: I be overseas or something? And that probably, I guess
S2: that never goes away. And it's sort of you feel like, oh,
S2: I should be out there, I should be running, I
S2: should be training, I should be practicing. Then I go
S2: and do it. And then I think to myself, no,
S2: I shouldn't be out there. Ouch. Yeah. Oh my God.
S2: But let's go back to that. Tell us a few
S2: of those stories from your time as a Paralympian. There's
S2: quite a bit to tell, quite a few achievements in there,
S2: but what sort of sticks out for you? What stuck
S2: out to me really is for something extraordinary that the
S2: Paralympics in general are. It is just full of such
S2: ordinary people. You've got people all throughout the time they're there,
S2: just like you or me, who have just been, for
S2: whatever reason, decided to give this thing a red hot
S2: go and train a little bit harder than everybody else.
S2: And if you have a disability, it's not necessarily easy
S2: to do a lot of things, but I've always noticed
S2: that those that do make it in the sport make
S2: it in inverted commas. They've just tried a little bit harder.
S2: And in terms of perseverance and trying and getting over
S2: the line and making those little improvements and hitting that
S2: ultimate achievement. You yourself are a Paralympic medallist. So if
S2: you don't mind going into a bit of detail, what
S2: was that like? That experience in 1992, in Barcelona, in
S2: the 800m and all the lead up and the feelings
S2: around that and how it all sort of panned out. Well,
S2: back then I was sponsored by Cheap Foods, which was
S2: a shopping chain in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
S2: And they had said, if you get a medal, then
S2: we will increase your sponsorship. And it was the last
S2: day of competition, pretty much, and I'd made the final
S2: of the 800m and that was the one thing that
S2: actually finally stuck in my head, as I'd given everything
S2: in the first 600m of that race, I'd run the
S2: first 400 way too fast. The adrenaline had pumped me up.
S2: I'd gone through in 52 seconds, and I'd never run
S2: under two minutes before in my life in the 800.
S2: At that stage, and, well, I'm a low B3, so
S2: I couldn't actually see what the time was when I
S2: went past, but the guy that was on my shoulder
S2: had and he'd sort of dropped way off. So by
S2: the time I got around to the 600m, I was
S2: absolutely spent completely and utterly exhausted. And so Christophe, the Frenchman,
S2: the Panamanian guy and the English guy all passed me
S2: in short succession. And I was thinking, oh, that's it, fourth.
S2: But then, yes, seeking extra sponsorship came into my head
S2: and I thought, no, no, I'm not going to this
S2: is not going to happen. So I don't think I
S2: looked particularly good as I was going in the next
S2: 200m or so. But I pushed through it. And because
S2: the poor Englishman had been stupid enough to follow me
S2: in the first lap, he was just that little bit
S2: more spent. So I actually went past him and I
S2: was that exhausted. I actually gave him a mouthful of
S2: abuse as I went past him, but still managed to
S2: continue on and hold on for that bronze medal. And
S2: as it was, there was a new Australian record by
S2: a lot. And yeah, and it was good enough for
S2: a bronze medal. And as far as I'm aware, to
S2: this day, I'm still the only blind athlete in this
S2: country to have broken two minutes. So I'm sure it's
S2: been done outside competition or outside the official competition, as
S2: it were. But I still hold that Australian record, which
S2: I want someone to break, that it's been sitting there
S2: for God knows how long now. Well, it might happen
S2: in 2024. Well, I'll have to wait and see. Is
S2: that your pet event? The one you sort of gear
S2: up to watching every four years when it comes around,
S2: or every two years in the Commonwealth Games in that
S2: respect as well. But is that the event you're sort
S2: of really looking forward to, or there's others that peak
S2: your interest as well over the years? Well, unfortunately, the
S2: 800m is not included for blind athletes at the moment. Oh,
S2: that's a shame. I think I think it's a B1 event,
S2: but the vagaries of international sports rules state that if
S2: there are less than six qualifiers in the event, then
S2: the event gets scrapped. So this means that modern Paralympians
S2: can't specialise in a single event because their event may disappear.
S2: And this is exactly what happened to me in 1996.
S2: I was all geared up to absolutely blitz the 800m,
S2: and the 800m just suddenly disappeared, owing to a whole
S2: bunch of athletes being injured back in 1990s, which had
S2: this sort of rock on thing to the 1996 Paralympics.
S2: So that's something that you've got to bear in mind
S2: is sometimes you've got athletes competing in events that they
S2: haven't trained for all their lives, and you've got to
S2: be flexible. And that's why you're having this exodus to triathlon,
S2: for example, by certain other athletes. And that's why my
S2: friend Sam Harding is switched over to triathlon, because at
S2: least it's going to be there. At least you can
S2: train for it and it won't suddenly disappear on you.
S2: That's also an interesting sort of dynamics there for people
S2: who are totally blind, swimming and riding and how they'd
S2: get guided through and training and all that sort of thing.
S2: And that added element to it for people out there
S2: who might be wondering, how would that sort of work
S2: in a Paralympic context? Do people still have guides or
S2: tandems alongside them if they are 100% B1? Absolutely no
S2: vision at all. What's your understanding there? Uh, guide riding
S2: has not changed since the year dot. One thing that
S2: has changed. So back in my day. God, I sound
S2: old when I'm saying that. But prior to the 1996 Paralympics.
S2: B1 runners in the 100m actually ran them in time trials.
S2: You'd have someone standing at the end of the 100
S2: meter straight and yelling out four four as they were
S2: running in lane four, and if they veered off to
S2: either side, they'd either yell out 3 or 5, and
S2: that would allow the runner to correct themselves. In the 1990s,
S2: that changed to the same as everything else, with a
S2: with a guide runner actually running the event and having
S2: to synchronize block starts and all that sort of stuff.
S2: So it still exists. And you do see B1 events, alas.
S2: And this is something that we called attention to a
S2: couple of weeks ago. No B1, no totally blind athletes
S2: selected it from Australia. And that's I think that's a
S2: crying shame considering we are blind athletes. And so yeah,
S2: if you are listening out there, you're young enough and
S2: you feel inspired, then get out there, find yourself a
S2: guide runner and, you know, give it a red hot go.
S2: There is a future for all of that as well, obviously.
S2: So we do want to say a lot of people
S2: getting involved. So that's super important. And you know, what's
S2: the best way for people out there to get involved
S2: and join a running club or perhaps an Achilles branch,
S2: or join an athletics club that's accessible for them? Well,
S2: Blind Sports Australia still exists out there, and it's their
S2: job to look after athletes with a vision impairment. So
S2: you can go onto their website. They will give you
S2: a potted guide onto to what things are available. But
S2: in theory all athletics clubs, all sports clubs nowadays should
S2: be accessible. So if it's up to you, if you want,
S2: if you feel confident enough to get out there and say, hey,
S2: I'd like to run. And yes, you have Achilles branches now.
S2: And Achilles is a I've only just recently learned about this.
S2: We're trying to open up one in in Adelaide as well. Uh,
S2: it works at developing able bodied athletes into guide runners.
S2: So if you feel like getting out and going for
S2: a run or something like that, you can contact your
S2: local Achilles branch. They can find you someone who can
S2: run with you. And I mean, the whole point is, well,
S2: is that person has to be just that little bit faster,
S2: a little bit fitter, so that all you need to
S2: do is sit back and run. They're the ones, they're
S2: your eyes. That's the whole general principle of it. Finally, Sam,
S2: we'll get in a little bit of an opportunity for
S2: some cross promotion. You've got a special coming up on
S2: Studio One shortly, all about the Paralympics. I'll let you
S2: fill the listeners in with as many of the details
S2: as you like. But yeah, that's coming up soon. We
S2: were actually considering just ignoring the things altogether, but the
S2: opportunity came up to actually present a slightly different spin
S2: on things. So what we are looking at are the
S2: athletes that came through the system over the years, might
S2: have competed at one Paralympics and then sort of disappeared again.
S2: So we are talking to three blind athletes who, yes,
S2: three blind athletes, three blind mice who started out at
S2: the well. One of them started out at the Seoul
S2: Paralympics and then went on to bigger and better things,
S2: as it were, as in marriage and a life which
S2: is all good for him. My friend Shane, who competed
S2: in the Sydney Paralympics and that was as a thrower
S2: and again went on to life and marriage and things
S2: like that. And yes, my friend Ed, who went on
S2: to be quite a successful public servant, so we're looking
S2: at how sport has actually treated them over the years
S2: and how it's actually influenced their choices and what went
S2: on afterwards, As I said, it's a slightly different, different
S2: approach because it's easy to look at elite athletes as
S2: some sort of superman, but, well, none of them are.
S2: We are we? We have the same issues and sometimes
S2: it doesn't quite work out. So I thought this would
S2: be like a twist on on things that would give
S2: the listener out there an idea that of what makes
S2: us actually tick properly. Yeah, all of this sort of
S2: thing isn't necessarily a guaranteed income, as you've mentioned. It's,
S2: you know, not 100% guaranteed. You can sort of make
S2: a living off sport. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people
S2: out there and all that blood, sweat and tears and
S2: hard work behind the scenes that some a lot of
S2: the stuff, all the, you know, people don't really see
S2: on TV. So it's great to, you know, get those stories.
S2: Not only do times change, but people change as well. So, um,
S2: it's not an easy thing to qualify for international competition,
S2: let alone for, for a Paralympic Games. Certainly not. Okay. Well,
S2: I've been speaking today with Sam Rickard, host of studio
S2: one and four time Paralympian. Here to chat to me
S2: all about the upcoming Paralympics taking place in Paris over
S2: the next couple of weeks. Sam. Great to catch up
S2: with you again. Thanks so much for your time and
S2: hope you enjoy the Paralympics. I'll be watching. On Sam,
S2: Cully and Joe listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio,
S2: associated stations of the Radio Reading Network and the Community
S2: Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with
S2: Sam Rickard, four time Olympian and host of Studio One
S2: alongside Lizzie Eastham. If you missed any part of that
S2: conversation with Sam or you'd love to hear it again.
S2: Talking vision will be available on the Vision Australia Radio
S2: website at VA radio.org. That's VA radio.org. You can also
S2: find the program and interview highlights from the shows on
S2: the podcast app of your choice, or through the Vision
S2: Australia library as we head into the month of September.
S2: The Children and Young People team at Vision Australia have
S2: a range of programs which are just opening for expressions
S2: of interest in 2025. But there's also quite a few
S2: other initiatives going on and to tell us all about them.
S2: I'm joined by Belinda Wilson, coordinator of the programs for
S2: children and young people at Vision Australia. Belinda, welcome back
S2: to Talking vision. Thanks for your time.
S3: Thanks for having.
S2: Me. Now we're here to have a little bit of
S2: an update on children and young people and what that
S2: part of the organization's getting up to. Why don't you
S2: give us a bit of an overview of some exciting
S2: things that have been going on?
S3: Well, there's a lot of things that have been happening
S3: in the children and young people's space over a lot
S3: of different things that have been happening in the area
S3: over the last, well, couple of years. But more, more recently,
S3: there's been some exciting stuff with with young adults and
S3: particularly with one of the programs that I run called
S3: the Leap program. One of the things that we have,
S3: which is wonderful, is the Life Ready Hub. And have
S3: you heard about that before, Sam?
S2: I have heard about it a little bit, but fill
S2: our listeners in on that a bit.
S3: So the Life Ready Hub is a wonderful online resources
S3: for clients and their parents, and they have a lot
S3: of different modules on different areas. So that could be
S3: anything from little games that you can play to explore
S3: different careers, to podcasts that you can listen to about
S3: different subjects. Just all things relating to children and to
S3: blindness and low vision. We have recently done a podcast
S3: that will be available on it, a mindfulness podcast that
S3: will be available on it soon. And it also is
S3: the house of a lot of resources and information relating
S3: to employment, education, inclusivity, daily skills, all those sorts of things.
S2: Okay, and if people would like to check out Life Ready,
S2: what's the best way for them to do that? Where
S2: should they.
S3: Go? Well, there's a lot of different ways that you
S3: can go through and get signed up for the Life
S3: Ready Hub. I would recommend if you are already involved
S3: with Vision Australia and you have a primary service provider
S3: to let them know if you're not already involved with
S3: Vision Australia, I would really recommend going through an intake first.
S3: In an intake, they discuss what type of goals that
S3: you and your child have and how you want to
S3: reach those goals, and through that, one of those options
S3: may be resources through the Life Ready Hub. And the
S3: great thing about the Life Ready Hub is it can
S3: be a flat resource, which is something you can read
S3: and do on your own time, or it's something you
S3: can do in tandem with a service provider.
S2: And Belinda, you mentioned earlier, they're just a little bit
S2: about the Leap program, and this is quite an exciting
S2: time of the year as applications have just opened up
S2: for 2025. So tell us a bit about leap and
S2: all the details there.
S3: Leap is exciting right now for several reasons. There are
S3: a lot of things happening in leap all at once,
S3: so it's a very busy but very exciting time. So
S3: the first thing that's happening is that we have opened
S3: applications for Leap 2025, and Leap is a ten month program.
S3: It runs from February to November. It's an after school
S3: extracurricular program for young people aged 14 to 18 who
S3: have low vision or blindness. What I really love about
S3: the program is that you can join it from anywhere
S3: in Australia. So if you are in a remote area
S3: or if you're in an urban area, you join it
S3: all by Microsoft Teams and that's where you have all
S3: the meetings. The meetings are broken down into different subjects,
S3: and I really think it's just about being life ready
S3: and about developing those life skills that you need in
S3: order to either go into education, employment or even just
S3: to live your daily life. So a lot of the
S3: focus is on organization, writing emails, technology skills, doing some
S3: career exploration, building up your organizational skills through running a fundraiser.
S3: There's employability part of it where people look for jobs
S3: online and write resumes and attend mock interviews. And then
S3: it finishes with a presentation and graduation ceremony in November.
S3: The reason why I'm so excited right now is because
S3: there are two things that are happening in September, in
S3: addition to the applications being open, which are we are
S3: running a leap camp, which is when the leap participants
S3: can come to our Kensington Seeing Eye dog houses and
S3: stay there for three days. And also we are running
S3: the mock interviews. So all of the leap participants will
S3: be having mock interviews with different members of our leadership team.
S3: And this is an experience that I think is so
S3: important for young people to have that first mock interview experience,
S3: or even if they've had an interview before, to hone
S3: their interview skills, to create an application, to tailor their
S3: resume and their cover letter to the application, and to
S3: get honest feedback on how they're interviewing, their presentation skills,
S3: how they approach a job, how they researched a job,
S3: how they've learnt about a job. All those sorts of
S3: things are so important. And I really love this time
S3: of year with leap. It's very busy, but it's very,
S3: very fun.
S2: Well, it certainly sounds fun and if people would love
S2: to sign up for leap, they perhaps may have a
S2: son or a daughter or niece or nephew who would
S2: really greatly benefit from taking part in Leap, what's the
S2: best way for them to sign up? Or a few
S2: places to just perhaps find out more before they make
S2: that final choice?
S3: Yeah, so there's a lot of different ways to learn
S3: about Leap. One is to just email me at Leap
S3: at Vision Australia. Org that is just the loop mailbox.
S3: There's also the loop website, which is if you go
S3: to the Vision Australia website and just type in leap.
S3: It'll pop up. The website is really detailed. It has
S3: everything down to the monthly activities. What happens when the
S3: program details the application process, the costing, everything is just
S3: outlined there. Also, just so you know, if you do
S3: submit an expression of interest on the website, it will
S3: also go to me at the leap mailbox. So either way,
S3: you're going to get in contact with me and I
S3: can always give you a call and just discuss the
S3: program and whether the program is a good fit.
S2: Okay. And that program is open for applications until November. Belinda. Yes. Yep.
S2: Earlier the better. But quite a few weeks and months
S2: for people to have a look and decide if leap
S2: is for them. But sounds like a lot of great
S2: things for people to get involved with, so look forward
S2: to seeing how that goes and hearing from quite a
S2: few people out there.
S3: Yeah, the reason why we recommend applying early is because
S3: we are aware that sometimes there are some steps that
S3: need to be done before leap starts. So one of
S3: those things may be connecting you with a primary service provider,
S3: who will be the person who will coordinate your child's services,
S3: and will also be the one to facilitate the program.
S3: There may be some discussions around NDIS funding that you
S3: need support in. There may be situations where the person
S3: may also need additional services outside of Leap. Or maybe
S3: leap isn't exactly the right program they're looking for. So
S3: the earlier that you get in contact with us, the
S3: better and the more that we can go through and
S3: answer any of your questions.
S2: Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Belinda Wilson from
S2: the Children and Young People team at Vision Australia about
S2: not only Leap, lip, but a few other things that
S2: children and young people can get involved with through Vision
S2: Australia and their programs. Belinda, thank you so much for
S2: your time today. Great to catch up with you and
S2: hear all about what's going on.
S3: Yeah, always a pleasure to see you, Sam.
S2: And now here's Frances Kelland with her radar recommended.
S4: Thanks, Sam. Today's reader, recommended from the Vision Australia Library
S4: is killing for Country by David Marr. David Marr was
S4: shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal native
S4: police in the bloodiest years on the frontier. Killing for
S4: country is the result of a soul searching Australian history.
S4: This is a richly detailed saga of politics and power
S4: in the colonial world of land seized, fortunes made and lost,
S4: and the violence let loose as squatters and their allies
S4: fought for possession of the country. A war still unresolved
S4: in today's Australia. Let's hear a sample of killing for
S4: Country by David Maher. It's narrated by the author David Maher.
S5: It was spring 1835. Is it not a good place? Asked.
S5: You're his guide? Agreed. But I should not like to
S5: put my sheep on it and drive away the cattle
S5: of those who have set down here. Two huts could
S5: be seen standing on the far side of the river.
S5: You didn't care. They are a set of cattle stealing rascals.
S5: And I should have no compunction. His guide agreed that
S5: they were rascals. But I should not trouble myself about that.
S5: I should go farther and look out for myself. They
S5: are here. You was not persuaded. This quarrelsome 21 year
S5: old had crossed the range with orders to seize a
S5: swathe of the finest land in New South Wales. My sheep,
S5: he said, will soon scatter the cattle. The two men
S5: rode 12 miles along the mokai, claiming 150,000 acres of
S5: the Liverpool Plains for the merchant Richard Jones. The soil
S5: was deep and black. This is Kamilaroi country, but neither
S5: Jones nor Edmund Ure doubted for a moment the land
S5: was theirs for the taking. Jones paid nothing for these acres.
S5: His only obligation was to stock them. His young brother
S5: in law would soon be running 30,000 sheep along the river.
S5: The colony was perfecting a unique form of conquest, invasion
S5: by sheep.
S4: And that was a sample of killing for Country by
S4: David Marr, available from the Vision Australia Library. To join
S4: the library or to find out more about how the
S4: library works, there is a phone number 1300 654 656. That's 1300 654 656
S4: or email library at Vision Australia. Org. That's library at
S4: Vision Australia. Org.
S2: For the 16th consecutive year. The Focus on Ability Short
S2: Film Festival is back in action. Over the month of September.
S2: There will be a variety of screenings where you can
S2: celebrate the remarkable talents and stories of individual filmmakers with disability.
S2: Come and experience the power of perseverance, creativity and resilience.
S2: Your presence will make these events truly unforgettable. These are
S2: free events, but registration is essential. You can find screenings
S2: across the country in Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Canberra, Sydney, Launceston
S2: and Brisbane. To find out more and to register head
S2: to focus on ability. Com.au. That's focus on ability. Dot
S2: com dot a U. And that's all the time we
S2: have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking
S2: vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all
S2: involved with putting the show together every week. And remember,
S2: we love hearing from you. So please get in touch
S2: any time on our email at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org.
S2: That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But
S2: until next week it's Sam Collins saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on 1300 847 406. That's 1300 847 486 or by visiting Vision australia.org.
S1: That's Vision australia.org.