Mayor Boosts Disabled Sports Participation In London

Main Category: Muscular Dystrophy / ALS
Also Included In: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 13 Sep 2007 - 13:00 PDT

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Mayor of London Ken Livingstone published 'Inclusive and Active' - an action plan designed to help increase the number of disabled people in London participating in any sport at any level.

Disabled Londoners have fewer opportunities or choice of sports activites and facilities than others, leading to less than one in five disabled adults in London taking part in any regular sport or physical activity.

The action plan jointly commissioned by the Mayor, Sport England and London Sports Forum for Disabled People sets out ten key priority action points to tackle the inequalities that exist and to help increase both sporting participation and success at every level. These include recruiting and training more disabled people as sports coaches with £500,000 funding already committed from the London Development Agency and increasing the number of existing sport and leisure facilities that are fully accessible and inclusive to disabled people.

The Mayor said:

'This report will address any concerns people have that disabled people will not reap the benefits of the London 2012 Games legacy. By working together with boroughs and national and local sporting associations to deliver the plan we can make a difference to the lives of disabled people before and after 2012, and create a sports legacy for disabled people of which we will be proud.'

Trevor Wood, Chair, London Sports Forum for Disabled People added:

'Inclusive and Active is a powerful document that has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of disabled Londoners. It is designed to ensure that good practice in terms of providing inclusive sport and physical activity is recognised and replicated.'

Sean Holt, Director of Sport England London said:

'Sport England strongly supports Inclusive and Active and we are fully committed to playing our role in tackling the challenges and barriers that disabled people face with regards to taking part in sport and physical activity.

The recent Active People survey showed that 9 per cent of disabled Londoners aged 16 and above participate in 30 minutes of sport or active recreation at least three times a week, compared to 21.3 per cent of Londoners without disabilities. It is imperative that we use this plan to encourage at least 1 per cent more disabled people to regularly participate in sport and physical activity year on year, in order to start narrowing the gap. This is a demanding target as this means 8-9,000 more disabled people participating each year or 40-45,000 between now and 2012.

Inclusive and Active provides a perfect opportunity to open the debate with partners and stakeholders in order to raise the profile and secure much needed investment and resources for this key area.'

Ade Adepitan, former British Paralympic wheelchair basketball player said:

'What is particularly exciting about Inclusive and Active is that it strives to ensure that Disabled Londoners have many more opportunities to access the sports of their choice. I am sure that it will be the catalyst for a whole new generation of disabled people enjoying actively taking part in sport, some of which I am sure will be the champions of the future.'

http://www.muscular-dystrophy.org