Grampian Disability Sport had a fantastic return to sport during the summer holidays, thanks to Summer of Play funding.
GDS was able to access just under £8,000 of the government funding thanks to a partnership between Live Life Aberdeenshire and Aberdeenshire ClubSport, which enabled their member clubs and organisations to apply for funding to run free of charge sports and activities for young people and families in Aberdeenshire.
After a surge in popularity of Scottish Disability Sport’s Summer Camp offering for youngsters aged 10 -17 with physical disabilities and sensory impairments, which was to be held at Lochter Activity Centre in Oldmeldrum, the funding enabled GDS to provide a further 7 half-day adventure camps at the site, which were opened up to youngsters with any disability aged 8-17 from Aberdeenshire, and their siblings and families.
Families had the opportunity to take part in a range of adventure activities including buggy driving, water zorbing, go karting, Segway, archery, kayaking and more! The environment was relaxed, staff were very flexible and went above and beyond to support the youngsters, and a total of 161 unique participants were involved across the 7 sessions.
Families commented that they wouldn’t ordinarily pay for this type of experience as they were concerned that their youngsters wouldn’t take part or wouldn’t manage, but seeing their children fully engage in the activities and gain confidence in their abilities changed their perceptions. It enabled parents and carers to meet other families and allowed their children to connect with their peers after lockdown.
They’re looking forward to hopefully offering a similar programme with Lochter during the Aberdeenshire Tatty Holidays.
If you (or someone you know) lives with a disability in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray or Shetland and wants to get involved in sport or physical activity, get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or call 07828744848.