Youngsters given chance to shine in Paralympic sports

Youngsters dreaming of competing for Britain at a future Paralympic Games have been given the chance to demonstrate their sporting abilities - in the hope of being talent-spotted for a future in sport.

The assessment day, held at the Brickfields Centre in Plymouth, was one of many being held across the country as part of the national Playground to Podium (P2P) programme. P2P is helping to address the fact that, at present, we know that only a quarter of 16-19 year olds with a disability play sport regularly, compared to a third of non-disabled youngsters.

The programme has been set up by Sport England, the Youth Sport Trust and ParalympicsGB to give disabled athletes the same sporting opportunities as their non-disabled counterparts and as a result, widen the talent pool for disability sport.

But it isn't just helping the most talented athletes. Every young person entering the programme is being directed towards further sporting opportunities - be it club participation or further coaching - part of a lasting Paralympic participation legacy. Sport England is investing £4.5 million in Playground to Podium between 2008 and 2012.

“Playground to Podium is about making sure that disabled young people have the same opportunities to take part in sport as everybody else,” said Lisa O'Keefe, Sport England’s Director of Sport. “We can be immensely proud of our Paralympic athletes but need to build on that success. By widening our talent pool for Paralympic sports, we will help more talented young people to fulfil their sporting potential.”
The sports on offer through the programme, each having coaches and talent scouts from the relevant governing bodies on hand to provide expert guidance, include:

• Athletics
• Boccia
• Football
• Swimming
• Table tennis
• Wheelchair basketball.

For the first time, school teachers are being trained in recognising potential talent in young disabled people - with those recognised going onto receive quality PE teaching in schools and coaching in clubs. The activity is part of the Government’s drive to give all young people the chance to take part in five hours a week of high quality PE and sport.

British Paralympic gold medal swimmer, Sascha Kindred OBE, attended the Plymouth assessment day to see for himself how the youngsters were working towards achieving their own Paralympic dreams.

Sascha said: “It’s great to visit the Playground to Podium event in Plymouth to see the young people taking part and enjoying a range of different sports. I hope by sharing some of my experiences of sport at the very top level during the day I can motivate and inspire them to perform to their very best ability.”

Playground to Podium will help to create a clear and professional disability sport pathway from school sport, through to club participation and - for the talented few - onto elite performance.

“Playground to Podium is an important addition to the pathways being delivered to support not just disabled young people’s participation in sport, but also their progression,” said Phil Lane, ParalympicsGB’s Chief Executive. “By increasing the number of young people involved in disability sport, we can also increase the pool of potential talent, from which we will select the future British Paralympic teams. Anyone selected today faces a long journey from club to international level, but this is an important first step for them.”

“The Youth Sport Trust is proud to be involved in Playground to Podium, which has the ultimate aim of engaging more young disabled people in sport and producing our next generation of Paralympians and elite disabled athletes,” said Alison Oliver, Youth Sport Trust's Director of Sport. “Our support to teachers to help spot potential talent, our multi-sport clubs that look to develop sporting skills, and our ability days that assess the potential of young people are all important steps on the Playground to Podium ladder. It will be hugely rewarding to see young people who have been involved in this initiative reaching the top of their sport and going on to claim their first gold medals.”