AFTER the huge success of the Rio Paralympics, an Okehampton sports club is promoting sporting opportunities for disabled people in the area as part of a county-wide campaign to get people into sport.
The campaign set up by Active Devon will use the excitement generated by Rio to inspire disabled people to try a new activity or sport during the autumn of 2016.
‘Give it a Go with Rio’ is promoting all the inclusive clubs and opportunities across Devon through special taster sessions, to give people the chance to try a new sport. Active Devon and local clubs have developed the campaign, along with local communities to help more people with a disability, their family and friends, to get active.
Okehampton Badminton Opportunity Club, run in partnership with the Opportunity Clubs Programme, provides disability badminton that caters for all kinds of disabilities from people in wheelchairs, those with hearing impairments or learning difficulties to amputees. The club runs weekly sessions at Parklands Leisure Centre.
There are 9.4-million disabled people in England but only 17.8% take part in sport for more than 30 minutes once a week compared to 39.2% of non-disabled people.
Hannah Colston, senior development manager at Active Devon, said: ‘With the incredible success of our GB Olympians this year, and the legacy of the GB Paralympics from four years ago, there has never been a better time to promote inclusive sport and encourage everyone to give it a go.
‘We have worked hard over the last few years with local community groups and support charities to develop and create some fantastic inclusive clubs.
‘They are offering sports such as wheelchair rugby and basketball, table cricket, boccia (a very popular seated version of bowls), football, shooting and athletics, many of which can be seen in the Paralympics.
‘Not only is sport a great way to get fit, it also has such strong social and emotional benefits. We want to make sure that everyone in Devon has the opportunity to be active for life.’
Short films and specific information about the local clubs on offer are available to view at www.activedevon.org/ inclusion
Anyone who wants to get involved locally can find out about local events by visiting www.activedevon.org/ inclusion or phoning 01392 925150.