Parafed Manawatu

Beyond Barriers 2026 - Session 6: Archery!

After a successful three weeks of boxing thanks to Empowerment and Potential we’ve moved into our next activity.

What a fantastic first session it was on Sunday with Manawatū Archery Club! Seven Parafed Manawatu members, along with siblings and parents, jumped in and gave archery a go. 🎯 Heaps of great shots from everyone and even saw some 10’s which was great to watch!

A massive thank you to all the amazing volunteers and to Manawatu Archery Club for hosting such a great first session. Your support truly made for a enjoyable first outing for all of our members!

We’re back again this Sunday, 10am- 12pm, for our second and final archery session.

It would be fantastic to see another great turnout this weekend! 🏹💪

Wheelchair Basketball New Zealand National League 2 2026! 🏀🦽

Come on down and support our local teams this weekend, August 22–23, as we host, alongside Basketball Manawatū, the latest round of the National League. This is shaping up to be an exciting weekend of Wheelchair Basketball with 12 teams participating from all around the country!

Manawatū has two teams competing in the Championship, with Central & Northern Sparks in Division 1 and the Manawatū team in Division 2! 🔥With the draw attached below!

It’s fantastic to have so many of our Parafed Manawatu members representing the region across the Championship:

🏀 Division 1: Luke, Rawiri & Jack
🏀 Division 2: Marion, Jackson, Tamahae, Ibby & Cayden

Bring on a great weekend of games and an awesome chance to watch the best players in the country!

Parafed Manawatu Ski Trip 2026 🎿

What an absolute blast we had on Saturday and what a day out with the team! 🙌

This year we had six skiers hit the slopes, and the smaller group gave everyone an opportunity for heaps of goes, building confidence, and really make the most of the mountain in some pretty stunning condtions !🗻☀️

A massive thank you to the Josh and Whakapapa, Mt Ruapehu team of coaches for providing such a fantastic day. It was also a great bonus to have Halberg Foundation advisers Max and Lawrence there to support us throughout the day also!

And this is only the beginning! 🔥

The 2026 Whakapapa Adaptive Ski Festival is coming up from 11–13 September, with limited spots available!

If you're interested, make sure you sign up ASAP you can sign up using the link below!

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whakapapa.com%2Fadaptive-festival%3Ffbclid%3DIwcGRvZgNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80Mzc2MjYzMTY5NzM3ODgAAR7D2J5kgqz3Rjd1b_C00NMZwTMmWPn3AzdW8Pt28B3YegyFod_lr0dLYJsFTQ_aem_WGNqM9tYR16J0xCweceyyg&h=AUBRV-nUY1npkG3e1dar-PdDaf4XE3bQSRBSTReqmeyNNyenR1jiGBgGOzJ2td-UUAIR9i9Dz7FJxl_r0aGbaai-O5Yx7O33gKEYf1YClc0UA1r17jDSAMsFXh9_JZY&s=1

Look forward to bringing back the crew in 2027! ☃️❄️

🏃‍♂️🏅 WEEK 2 - BEYOND BARRIERS 2026 ATHLETICS

It was great to be back at the track on Monday for our second session with Vanessa. We were lucky with the weather, and what a session it was!

This week we focused on javelin and sprints, a great way to finish off the athletics part of our programme. It’s been awesome seeing everyone getting involved, having fun plus building confidence while improving their throwing and sprinting skills! 💪🔥

A huge thank you to Athletics New Zealand
for supporting our sessions.

The athletics has been such a success that Parafed Manawatu are excited to offer two more sessions in September, with a focus on sprints and fitness.

📅 Monday 14th September
📅 Monday 21st September
⏰ 4–5pm

More information coming closer to the time!

🥊 SESSION 3 – BOXING IS LESS THAN 24 HOURS AWAY!

We kick off tomorrow at 1pm at Empowerment and Potential! We’re looking forward to tomorrow!

🌟 Beyond Barriers Leadership Course 2026!

As we headed into our 10-week leadership programme, it was awesome to bring together our local Parafed Manawatu leaders in Feilding for the past two Sundays for some leadership training.

The programme was designed to help participants develop their leadership skills by building self-awareness, learning what effective leadership looks like, and building on there personal goals in the coming years.

The practical sessions gave everyone the opportunity to lead multiple activities, adapt on the go, and grow in confidence through hands on experience in this leading space!

A massive thank you to Jono and Empowerment and Potential for all your support over the past two weeks!

We looking forward to coming back to the gym this Sunday for Session 3 of Boxing after a successful first two sessions of athletics.
This is going to run between 1.00-2.30pm and this is open to any ages with a physical disability.
Please email [email protected] if you interested to come along and haven’t signed up all ready!

This is just the beginning for these emerging leaders throughout the programme, you will see some of them stepping up to lead upcoming sessions!

See you all then 🥊🥊

New Zealand Wheelchair Rugby WRC Round 2 (final round 2026)

Over the weekend, several of our Parafed Manawatu members travelled to Wellington to compete in a busy weekend of rugby, with four challenging matches against strong opposition. The Manawatu Wheelchair Rugby team continued to improve throughout the tournament, finishing on a high with an impressive win in their final game.

Results
🦽🏉 Manawatū 38–56 Otago
🦽🏉 Manawatū 24–65 Canterbury Black
🦽🏉 Manawatū 32–59 Canterbury Red
🦽🏉 Manawatū 48–40 D Sport ✅

Overall, Manawatū finished 7th in the 2026 WRC standings and a solid foundation to build on leading into 2027!

What's next? Some of the players heading to
📍 NZ Nationals – Dunedin | 25–27 September
📍 Low Pointer Competition – Te Awamutu | 17–18 October

Congratulations to everyone who represented Manawatū over the weekend, and all the best to those competing in the upcoming events.