Foundation’s Female Voices: “We should fight until it is normal for everyone to play sports”
Picture: Tamara at the NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game © Ben Solomon
MIES (Switzerland) - Five women, five continents, five weeks, five stories of resilience, leadership and Basketball For Good leading up to the International Women’s day on March 8th. On week three, discover the story of Tamara Medaerts from Belgium, a Special Olympics and Paralympic athlete and coach who is fighting for equal opportunities in sport.
Tamara Medarts used to be a Paralympics and Special Olympics swimmer, winning medals at World and European level and even taking part in the Paralympics for Belgium. However, after an injury to her shoulder, she could no longer swim. Her brothers played basketball and it seemed fun, she started playing it and never looked back.
© Olivier Papegnies
“I play in both a regular special Olympics team and in our Unified Team [team made up of athletes with and without intellectual disability], but I have also had the opportunity to play in a regular lady’s team” said the young women. “I’ve had some really nice experiences but participating with our Unified Team in MENA games in Abu Dhabi and playing in the NBA Cares Special Olympics Unified Basketball Game where probably my best experiences, it was really cool”.
Tamara poses with her opponent in the NBA Cares game, Nikola Jokic
“Basketball has made me more confident, it taught me to try to love myself even with my disability. It has also taught me how to interact with others in a team, this isn’t always easy. I learned that everyone is different, and that is ok. As a team we get better because of this.”.
Tamara feels strongly about equal opportunities for all in sports. “We should fight until it is normal for everyone to play sports. We shouldn’t have to think differently about women or people with ID [Intellectual disability] playing sports. Sports is something that unites us: men and women, people with or without ID. Playing sports will help you love yourself and you will find out how strong you are”.
© Herman de Houwer
“It is important for women to play sports and why shouldn’t they?” exclaimed Tamara. “We can play sports as well as men… maybe we need sports even more than men to start to feel better about ourselves and accept who we are, what we can do and what we look like”.
Tamara has played in Special Olympics mixed teams and in a regular lady’s team. “I like them both but playing in mixed teams, I can push myself to compete with the boys and I like giving it my all. We’re all the same, why wouldn’t we be able to play in one team? I can play as hard as the boys and I can beat them, I know for sure. Playing boys and girls together also creates a nice dynamic”.
“People with disabilities should play sports for the same reasons as people without disabilities: health, fun, friendship. But it is also a place where we can be ourselves and grow at our own pace. We learn to handle different situations and how to interact with other people. Self-worth of people with ID also grows as we play sports. It is also a time where you can stop thinking about things and just enjoy the moment”.
7 years ago, Tamara decided to share her passion for basketball and started coaching. “My coaches Kris and Valerie asked me to help with one of the special Olympics teams because my brothers played there. I liked coaching and when Valerie asked me to coach a U10 team together I didn’t hesitate. We then also did our coach’s license course together. Valerie helped me to become a qualified coach. I’m a coach for a regular team and since a couple of years, Valerie and I are also coaching a young unified team.”
Tamara coaches young Unified Team of Special Olympics Belgium at the Special Olympics European Basketball Week Unified Tournament in Munich in 2019
Coaching is very fulfilling for Tamara, “I like teaching kids new things, to see how they improve their skills because I have taught them well. I like to take care of people and I feel that I can do that as a coach. I am very proud of my team when they have done well. Sometimes it is a little bit difficult because they are not listening or I’m having a difficult day”.
On top of all her basketball activities, Tamara is part of the UNEX Group (Europe-Eurasia Unified Expert) and is working in a social company, accustomed to people with a disability. In the future she hopes to play basketball with her friends again and win games. “I want to coach my U14 team again and our Unified team. I also would like to continue working on Unified sports as I have been doing in the UNEX group over the past 3 years, fighting for POMI [the Principle Of Meaningful Involvement ensure that every player is given an opportunity to contribute to the success of his or her team through their unique skills and qualities]”.
“Using Basketball For Good is a really good initiative because I have seen how basketball can bring changes for the better. People come together as ‘one team’, they value each other more when they are playing sports (even if they are opponents in a game)".
