Vacy sailor Melissa Nelson is heading to California later in the month for the Special Olympic World Summer Games.
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The 20-year-old former Dungog High School student will join 7000 athletes representing 177 countries at the event to be held in Los Angeles from July 25 to August 2.
Nelson qualified for the sailing event from the Special Olympics National Games in Melbourne last October when she partnered with Sydney’s Alyse Saxby.
In September she travelled to Japan to compete in the Hiroshima Peace Games prior to the nationals.
She teamed up with Saxby, who also has an intellectual disability, for Japan and they have been inseparable on the water ever since.
“I was thrilled to qualify for Los Angeles and I have been practising really hard over the last six months,” she said.
“We didn’t find out until March what type of yacht we would be sailing at the competition.
“There wasn’t one similar in Sydney we could use and then a Rathmines man helped out with his boat.
“Alyce comes to my place most weekends and we go down to Lake Macquarie to practise.”
Nelson took up the sport in 2007 when she started in year 7 and she enjoyed it so much she continued even after leaving school.
The event will be held at Long Beach in California and her parents Annette and Gary are going to the US as well.
Mum Annette said Mel had to raise $8250 to go.
“Gary’s workmates held a cricket day and raised $3000 and the Farmers Hotel at Vacy held a golf day which brought in $1000,” she said.
“The hotel also held a trivia night which raised $3000 and the rest came from raffles and garage sales.
“The community has been extremely generous in help Mel achieve her dream.”