Turning Paralympic Inspiration into Club Engagement
On 17 October 2024, Dr. Olesya Zaglada took part in an online webinar, “Turning Paralympic Inspiration into Club Engagement,” organized by Access Sport, UK.
Access Sport is a national charity that was formed in 2024. The vision of Access Sport is that no one should be excluded from the transformational benefits of community sport. They make inclusion the norm by tackling the access barriers faced by disadvantaged and disabled young people, focusing on the causes of exclusion, not just the symptoms.
They work with communities and coaches across the UK to tackle barriers for underserved children and young people. Access Sport brings together like-minded people to share knowledge, experience, and learning. They organize many events such as training sessions and webinars like this one.
The first speaker was Helen Rowbotham, Access Sport’s CEO and ParalympicsGB Trustee. She shared her amazing experience of visiting the Paralympic Games in Paris. ParalympicsGB had its most successful Games in history, bringing home 49 gold, 44 silver, and 31 bronze medals. Her personal highlight was definitely the wheelchair basketball final, where the men’s wheelchair basketball team took their first silver medal, and para-canoe, in which the UK Paralympic Team has many outstanding athletes. During the Games, Paralympic sport became part of our daily news, creating a sense of connection. We also heard from politicians about the necessity of investing in inclusion, particularly in school sports. Additionally, ParalympicsGB launched its new social impact strategy, which aims to harness the positive power of Paralympic athletes to deliver sustainable change in the lives of disabled people. The Paralympics inspire people to be active; this is officially known as the “demonstration effect.”
“Research shows that the Paralympics do inspire people to get active and have an impact on people’s interest in sport”
-Turning Paralympic Inspiration into Club Engagement Webinar | Access Sport
However, the sad reality is:
Only one in three disabled people feel confident in a sport and physical activity setting compared to other settings such as at work (2 in 3 disabled people) and in school or college (56%).
ParalympicsGB/Savanta, Social Impact Tracking, Dec. 2023
Disabled people are almost twice as likely as non-disabled people (17% compared to 10%) to say they are unable to find accessible and inclusive activities near them.
ParalympicsGB/Savanta, Social Impact Tracking, Dec. 2023
The second speaker was Baden Knitton, from ParalympicsGB’s Every Body Moves platform.
The aim of Everybody Moves is, through sport, to inspire a better world for disabled people – ParalympicsGB ten-year strategy: Championing Change, 2022.
The social impact ambition of ParalympicsGB is to use the positive power of the Paralympics and Paralympic athletes to inspire a change in attitudes toward disability and bring about equality for disabled people in sport, education, and society. The approach is disabled-led and driven.
ParalympicsGB’s social impact strategy has three priorities:
Equitable access to sport: By focusing on community sports and schools, they aim to bring change for disabled people in the UK, empowering the disability community to feel confident and have access to inclusive and accessible sports, physical activities, and physical education.
Champion disability inclusion: Through partnerships and networks, decision-makers will create inclusive and accessible environments that empower disabled people to thrive as employees, customers, or clients.
Transform understanding of disability: Through campaigning and advocacy, they aim to transform the public’s understanding of disability, leading to a significant reduction in the societal barriers that disabled people face in sports and society.
Social impact programs:
Every Body Moves, powered by Toyota – Participation at grassroots and in the community. Home | Every Body Moves
Get Set – Young people and schools. Inclusive PE and resources. Employability, training, careers & business support | Get Set UK
Beyond the Podium – Support for corporate partners. Home | Beyond The Podium
Every Body Moves has three focus areas that feed into our overarching social impact strategy:
Empowering disabled people to be active
To empower more disabled people to engage in physical activity through our multi-faceted approach.
Collaboration for change
To influence and ensure the availability of a greater number of accessible and inclusive activities for disabled people in the UK.
Building a community
To create and grow an Every Body Moves community, connecting disabled people with service providers to build confidence and commitment toward truly inclusive, accessible opportunities for all disabled people.
It is essential that the Paralympic legacy creates access to sport for disabled young people and that inclusion becomes the norm.