The community that stands behind Canterbury’s sporting success consists of specialists across a range of fields.
 

Within this community, child optometrist John Anstice was a pioneer who appealed to parents with a simple mantra: Your child’s success is our vision.

When John retired in 2013, Jeremy Fox & Dharshie Hughes made a commitment, as the new Directors of Anstice Optometrists, “to make a difference to little people’s lives and their learning”  by gaining specialist training in the field of Sportvision and Schoolvision.

Six years later, the community around Anstice Optometrists has many stories to tell.

Their clients form an extended family, with many common experiences, from students with everyday challenges to sportspeople with high performance goals.

“Children may have trouble concentrating at school,” says Jeremy. “They may suffer headaches and fatigue. Their symptoms may hold them back from being active.”

After Tom Walsh shared his personal experience with dyslexia, many families have gained more confidence to seek advice on the link between eyesight and different learning challenges.

One family seeking a consultation travelled from Australia. Their daughter suffered low self-esteem and lacked interest in participation in sport or extracurricular activities.

Jeremy detected instability of her dominant eye, an ocular health issue. He stabilised her vision, and within a year, she returned to the Ilam office.

He recalls the visit and update. “She came back as a completely different person.”

The girl’s family commented on her changed confidence, her decision to enrol in drama class and a sudden interest in sporting activities.

“The father couldn’t believe the change in his own daughter.

“That’s our community. We help people realise their potential. It’s about everybody being as good as they can be.”

On behalf of our sporting community, Sport Canterbury wishes to thank Anstice Optometrists for their generous support of the ORIX NZ 2019 Canterbury Sports Awards.

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