Latest news with #WorldDwarfGames
The Age
2 days ago
- General
- The Age
Chappo didn't like Shakes when they first met. Now, they're ‘like brothers'
Primary teacher Caleb 'Shakes' Mills (right) and youth pastor James 'Chappo' Chapman, both 20, met in year 7. They've been taking it in turns to carry each other, physically and emotionally, ever since. James: I didn't like Shakes when we met in 2017. He was friends with friends of mine and I was jealous. In the end, I decided to give him a crack. Turned out he was a lot like me: loves meeting new people, staying up late planning adventures and writing songs. We clicked, and rode our bikes all over Newcastle together. A couple of mates took us to youth church and we became Christians. It gave us a supportive community and a belief in something bigger than ourselves. I use my disability to share hope with other young people. I don't sugar-coat it, though: at times, I struggle. I was born with pseudoachondroplasia dwarfism, a one-in-a-million condition. At nine, I had an operation to straighten my legs and was bedridden for three months. The prospect of an even bigger operation at 13 was terrifying but, in the end, my doctor felt it wasn't necessary. I was basically given a second childhood – and Caleb was a big part of that. 'We gave each other a safe space to talk; nothing, not even something as dark as that, was off limits.' James 'Chappo' Chapman Even though I'm not wheelchair-bound, I had to use one at school, so Caleb would push me and help carry my stuff. His dad and younger brother moved away after his parents split in 2018, and we'd often make the three-hour return trip from Newcastle to Woy Woy after school to see them. He missed them terribly. I just wanted to be beside him. When we were 14, an older boy in our youth group committed suicide. We'd shared a cabin with him at camp and it hit all of us hard. We didn't know what to think or feel and having someone to process something so heavy with was a relief. We gave each other a safe space to talk; nothing, not even something as dark as that, was off limits. After finishing school, we travelled through Europe, Japan and Egypt for four months. I wanted to bite his head off at times – Shakes is chronically late and sleeps and showers way too much – but I couldn't have done it without him. In Iceland, we shared a bottom bunk in a rental van with a dwarf friend for 10 days while two mates, who'd just started going out, slept on top. The sound of them getting intimate a foot above our heads ... we'll never be able to unhear it. At festivals, I'm always on his shoulders, which is how I ended up on stage with Macklemore last year in Sydney for a dance-off, which was super-fun. Shakes is always right there with me in the mosh pit; he won't let me miss a thing. When I made the Australian soccer team for the 2023 World Dwarf Games in Germany, Shakes said, 'I'm coming, too.' We had to pay our own way, so Caleb helped fundraise and live-streamed our matches. We lost to France in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, but I felt so supported having him there.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Chappo didn't like Shakes when they first met. Now, they're ‘like brothers'
Primary teacher Caleb 'Shakes' Mills (right) and youth pastor James 'Chappo' Chapman, both 20, met in year 7. They've been taking it in turns to carry each other, physically and emotionally, ever since. James: I didn't like Shakes when we met in 2017. He was friends with friends of mine and I was jealous. In the end, I decided to give him a crack. Turned out he was a lot like me: loves meeting new people, staying up late planning adventures and writing songs. We clicked, and rode our bikes all over Newcastle together. A couple of mates took us to youth church and we became Christians. It gave us a supportive community and a belief in something bigger than ourselves. I use my disability to share hope with other young people. I don't sugar-coat it, though: at times, I struggle. I was born with pseudoachondroplasia dwarfism, a one-in-a-million condition. At nine, I had an operation to straighten my legs and was bedridden for three months. The prospect of an even bigger operation at 13 was terrifying but, in the end, my doctor felt it wasn't necessary. I was basically given a second childhood – and Caleb was a big part of that. 'We gave each other a safe space to talk; nothing, not even something as dark as that, was off limits.' James 'Chappo' Chapman Even though I'm not wheelchair-bound, I had to use one at school, so Caleb would push me and help carry my stuff. His dad and younger brother moved away after his parents split in 2018, and we'd often make the three-hour return trip from Newcastle to Woy Woy after school to see them. He missed them terribly. I just wanted to be beside him. When we were 14, an older boy in our youth group committed suicide. We'd shared a cabin with him at camp and it hit all of us hard. We didn't know what to think or feel and having someone to process something so heavy with was a relief. We gave each other a safe space to talk; nothing, not even something as dark as that, was off limits. After finishing school, we travelled through Europe, Japan and Egypt for four months. I wanted to bite his head off at times – Shakes is chronically late and sleeps and showers way too much – but I couldn't have done it without him. In Iceland, we shared a bottom bunk in a rental van with a dwarf friend for 10 days while two mates, who'd just started going out, slept on top. The sound of them getting intimate a foot above our heads ... we'll never be able to unhear it. At festivals, I'm always on his shoulders, which is how I ended up on stage with Macklemore last year in Sydney for a dance-off, which was super-fun. Shakes is always right there with me in the mosh pit; he won't let me miss a thing. When I made the Australian soccer team for the 2023 World Dwarf Games in Germany, Shakes said, 'I'm coming, too.' We had to pay our own way, so Caleb helped fundraise and live-streamed our matches. We lost to France in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, but I felt so supported having him there.
Indian Express
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Karnataka HC orders state govt to give cash awards to medallists of 2017 World Dwarf Games
The Karnataka High Court recently ordered the state government to give cash awards to medallists from Karnataka at the 7th World Dwarf Games conducted in Canada in 2017. A single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna in April granted the petition by C V Rajanna and other athletes and asked the government to comply with the order within eight weeks. The World Dwarf Games is an international multi-sport competition held every four years for athletes of short stature, similar to the Paralympics. The Dwarf Sports Federation of India had sent 27 athletes, including the petitioners from Karnataka, to compete in the 2017 World Dwarf Games. The petitioners claimed that their requests for cash prizes for medallists were ignored by the government. Their claim was also rejected after a previous high court judgment directed the government to consider their representation. Arguing against the grant of the award, the state counsel noted that they had not participated under the sponsorship or direction of the state. He stated that if the request was granted, it would open the door for any participant outside the state's knowledge to demand the same benefits as sponsored athletes. In the order made public recently, the Karnataka High Court noted that the athletes were not requesting the cash prizes for the current Dwarf Games, but for the 2017 games. A government order from 2013 established cash prizes of Rs 5 lakh for bronze, Rs 7 lakh for silver, and Rs 10 lakh for gold medals, which were reportedly awarded to Paralympic athletes. A second order had been issued in 2017 by the government after the Games were over, under which the participants were not eligible for cash awards. The bench then referred to the previous statement of the court when the matter was considered and noted, 'Undisputed facts of the case are, the State Government has issued two Guidelines. The first one on 30.11.2013 and the second one on 09.10.2017…….The argument advanced on behalf of the State that petitioner's case shall be considered under second guidelines is untenable….it is disposed of with a direction to the respondents to consider petitioner's application.' The high court explained that the state order considering and rejecting the application for the cash award to the sportspersons had been made counter to the court's reasoning. The state's objections could not be accepted since the rights of the petitioners had been 'crystallised' under the 2013 order before the 2017 guidelines had taken force, the high court noted.
