This article is from page 61 of the 2011-05-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 61 JPG
PAT Rutherford could be described as a sporting fanatic – he’s run more marathons than there are sunny days in an average year in Ireland, swims every day, or at least every other day. Plays golf too.
Not much time left for other sporting pursuits you might think, but if so, you’d think wrong. There’s the Special Olympics, be it up on Lees Road getting the best out of Robbie McNamara ahead of the 21-year-old’s participation in the Special Olympic European Games in Poland last year; be it in the bowling alley in Drumbiggle, but further up the Drumbiggle drag in Ennis Golf Club.
“I love it,” he says. “All of us involved do and we have a lot of volunteers now who help out in Special Olympics,” he adds.
His work on the track in Lees Road yielded gold and silver medals for Robbie McNamara in Poland, but true to the Olympic ideal, for Pat it’s not all about winning but taking part and seeing athletes grow as the participate.
In golf, in athletics, table tennis, bowling. “It’s seeing their personalities coming out and the confidence they get from Special Olympics. It’s brilliant to be part of it – brilliant for the athletes in other times they might have been left out and others got to play games.”
Rutherford makes the time, as do other key volunteers like Larry Parks, Barbara Foley, Pierce Cahill and many more – so much so that their Monday mornings aren’t the space without a date for Special Olympics golf.
“There is something in it for every athlete,” says Rutherford “and that’s what makes it so interesting for them. The degree of disability puts you into the divisions – the first half of every big event is validating the information and deciding what category the athletes should be in.
“It’s the HER, the honest effort rule. This is fundamental to the games, in other words that they would be in the right category. If you are 15 per cent of your recorded performance beforehand in the final, you are disqualified. It’s the way the games are run,” he adds.