Deloitte Community Games
Location: Barking
Date: November 2011
On the 10th of November SportInspired partnered with Deloitte to host a disability Community Games at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre. Deloitte’s press release below sets the scene and outlines some of the achievements:
Deloitte and SportInspired host first
disability sport Community Games,
driving Olympic legacy
by Zoe Reilly
Over 200 schoolchildren from Barking and Dagenham made their way to Goresbrook Leisure Centre on Thursday to take part in a disability sport Community Games. 17 local schools were invited to take part in the day and participants had the chance to try a number of different Paralympic sports, including sitting volleyball, goal ball, judo, cricket, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, cycling and boccia. The event was organised by London 2012 sponsor Deloitte and SportInspired, a social enterprise that aims to increase sports participation and community engagement.
The idea behind the event is to give all children an opportunity to try new sports, but more specifically to make children with a disability aware of the sporting opportunities open to them and connect them directly with sports clubs in their local area.
Richard Raynes, Operations Director for SportInspired, said: “In order to have young people engage in sport and therefore reap the benefits, we need to change the context. Through our Community Games, we are able to introduce local young people to a variety of sports and sports clubs, they would never otherwise try. Of course, none of this is possible without the support we have from Deloitte, whose commitment to disability sport in this country is amazing. With Deloitte as a key partner I have no doubt we can help transform grass roots sporting participation for young disabled people.”
With less than a year to go before the start of the Paralympic Games, the hope is that the performances of the ParalympicsGB team next summer will inspire a new generation of talented disabled athletes to develop.
Catherine Bayley, disability sports manager at Deloitte, said: “Encouraging young people to try disability sports not only increases awareness of the sports played at the Paralympic Games, some of which are unique to disability sport, but also helps disabled children try a new sport. We have supported hundreds of disability athletes over the last five years and know that for some elite athletes the journey to the top began after giving a new sport a try.”
Thursday’s Community Games event received the support of Britain’s most decorated Paralympian, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who said: “If you believe, as I do, that sport has the power to effect real change in people’s lives, the Community Games are a wonderful example of how that change can be achieved. The Community Games offer the chance for people of all ages to have fun with sport, to integrate and socialise. I hope that the children that took part in the Deloitte Disability Community Games in Barking on Thursday will be inspired to make sport a part of their lives.”
Four and a half years ago, Deloitte created Parasport alongside ParalympicsGB. The website allows people with a disability to find sports suitable for them and local clubs where they can get active. For more information on Deloitte Parasport and details about clubs local to Barking and Dagenham, please visit:http://www.parasport.org.uk/
Key Output and Outcomes
Competitors:
- 17 local schools took children to the Deloitte Community Games
- On average, 55% of the sports were totally new to each competitor
- The competitor, on average, reported they were inspired to do 3.5 of the 8 sports again in the near future.
Volunteers:
When asked what the one thing you will remember about the Community Games, volunteers indicated:
- “Catering for kids of all abilities and confidence”
- “How children have to deal with adversity and how something as simple as sport can make them smile”
- “How children lighten up during the day when they are experiencing something new”
Participants:
Clubs which participated:
- Awesome Boccia Club
- Lynx Volleyball Club
- Flying Wheels
- Barking & Dagenham Thunder Basketball Club
- Redbridge Wheelchair Basketball Club
- Cricket for Change
- Ford Judo Club
- Bikeworks (All Ability Club)
Sports offered:
- Sitting Volleyball
- Goal Ball
- Judo
- Cricket
- Wheelchair Rugby
- Wheelchair Basketball
- Cycling
- Boccia
We’ll report on other outcomes when our legacy building phase is complete…