By William Moncrieff, Communications Apprentice
The East of Scotland Parasport Festival took place on Tuesday 19th March. It was held at Winchburgh Academy, West Lothian. The festival was organised by Helen Kallow, East of Scotland Regional Development Manager in partnership with many local and national organisations. The day had lots of fantastic opportunities for fun and engagement, with around 50 participants attending. Some of these opportunities were boccia, wheelchair basketball, badminton, swimming, and kayaking.
Helen viewed the day as a huge success. “It was fantastic to see all the smiling faces and hear all the positive comments from the parents and teachers about the sports the kids had enjoyed. It was great teamwork”.
Helen continued to say, “I think it’s so important. All the comments have been that the kids have tried things that they never would have tried before. Some of the parents thought that the kids might have been reluctant but just to see other similar people take part, coaches, and helpers as well, it’s been such a positive experience for them”.
“I just think of watching the smile and the face of one of the girls in the canoe, who never thought that she could be in a canoe and what a great time she had”, said Helen.
Each Parasport Festival relies on multiple organisations, coaches, and volunteers to help with the planning and delivery of the day. One individual who played a crucial role was Demi Mitchell, Active Schools Coordinator Lead for Additional Support Needs and Care Experience within West Lothian. “I am at the Parasport Festival from the local authority as I’ve been working in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport, and we are proud to host the event at Winchburgh and West Lothian today. So, I am here helping to organise, support the event, ensuring that everybody has the most enjoyable time.”
Demi further explained the crucial role that the Parasport Festival play: “We know those that attend a mainstream school or mainstream setting can be excluded and left out of sport, which is something we really don’t want. So, I think this is a huge opportunity to show thousands of people, staff, volunteers, and young people that they can take part in sport and by also providing access, demonstrating to those young people that everything is possible. Some of these young people don’t know what’s out there”.
This view is also shared by Fee, a parent and guardian for two children at the festival. Fee talked about the Parasport Festivals providing opportunities that are not always available for young individuals with a disability: “they absolutely loved the first one [Parasport Festival]. It gave them the opportunity to try things that they’d not tried before and things that are not available to them where we live.”
One of the coaches that delivered sessions on the day was, Pamela Robson, National Disability Pathways Officer for Scottish Athletics. Pamala talked about the role that the Parasport Festival plays in providing opportunities from an early age, and the value that she puts on this.
“I feel like the sooner we can get kids into sport the better breaking down barriers before they are there. If we can get children as young as possible to try different sports and realise that they can do it, that there is a way for everyone to participate, then it can only be a positive.” Said Pamela.
She further showcased some of the partner work that is involved in the Parasport Festivals. “In this area we have coaches from three different clubs coming to deliver today. So, we’ve got Corstorphine AC who run a frame running session.
“We’ve got Team East Lothian, who do athletics and frame running and we have a club from Fife who support the frame running as well. But there’s also a few clubs in the local area that offer athletics to people with a disability and have started to develop the bespoke frame running sessions as well. So, it’s amazing to see them here today developing opportunities for people in the area but also for them to see just what the demand is.”
If you would like to find out more information about Scottish Disability Sport’s work or how to find out what is available in your local area please go to contact SDS on 0131 317 1130 or by email at: admin@scottishdisabilitysport.com