Sunday is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Sport and Physical Activity is an important area in which we can show that difference should not be any barrier, and that the opportunities we offer are as inclusive as possible.
On Wednesday the Active Disability Ireland Seminar took place celebrating five years since the introduction of its charter, a simple guide to how we can all be more aware of all those who we serve.
To mark the day we thought it would be good to look back over ten stories we carried in 2023 that show the good and positive work the Irish sporting community is undertaking in being inclusive, and perhaps inspire others to appear here next year.
MAKING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES FEEL INCLUDED
Six out of every ten children with disabilities feel excluded from physical education classes in schools, and less than three in every ten find it easy to take part in physical activities at all.
These are among the distressing figures from Active Disability Ireland’s Youth Survey 2023, released today ahead of this month’s National Seminar of Inclusion and the launch of Active Disability Ireland’s new youth forum.
Top line findings from the Active Disability Ireland’s Youth Survey show:
• Almost 70% of children with disabilities enjoy taking part in sport and physical activity
• Only 27.4% find it easy to take part in physical activity
• Only 31.5% feel confident during PE
• Just 38.6% agreed with the statement “I feel included in PE”
Asked why they feel excluded, the children listed a range of reasons including lack of opportunities (56.1%); lack of confidence in their abilities (43.8%); and having no-one to enjoy games with (36.9%).
IRISH CP FOOTBALLERS WIN NATIONS LEAGUE TITLE
The Republic of Ireland Women’s Cerebral Palsy Team have been crowned champions of the International Federation of CP Football Nations League for 2023.
Competing in their first ever tournament, the newly-assembled team won 12-6 against the Netherlands on Sunday to follow on from their 11-1 triumph over Denmark and their 16-1 victory over Spain.
In three games, they scored an incredible 39 goals to show their class and make all of their hard work over recent months pay off by finishing top of Group A.
The tournament took place in FC Storebælt in Denmark and the Girls in Green wasted little time in playing their attacking brand of football and not letting any pre-tournament nerves get to them.
This is a team that was established over the past year following excellent work by the CP Football Academy, who set up regular training sessions at the AUL Complex in Dublin. They are keen to recruit more players and hope that this tournament win will inspire girls to take up CP Football.
SENSORY BUS FOR TALLAGHT STADIUM AND SHAMROCK ROVERS
Shamrock Rovers have teamed up with Senco Sensory Solutions and South Dublin County Council to provide a mobile sensory room on matchdays at Tallaght Stadium
Following a successful trial converting the unused TV studio at Tallaght Stadium in the last men’s premier division game, the club is expanding the provision of sensory facilities at Friday’s next home game on 29th Sept against Shelbourne.
In an effort to make matchdays at Tallaght Stadium as inclusive as possible and to encourage as many people as possible to come to games, the addition of sensory facilities has been welcomed by families with children who have autism.
Children who are neurodiverse will now be able to attend the match and have a safe space to go to when the crowds and noise get a little too much.
The club will build on the service for the 2024 season and is delighted to see out the 2023 season with the fantastic facility that is the Sensory Express Bus.
RUN ‘N ROLLING IN DUBLIN
The Irish Wheelchair Association’s Run’n’Roll, supported by Liberty Insurance, takes place this Sunday 3 September in St. Anne’s Park in Dublin. The race seeks to support and promote an inclusive society for people with disabilities.
Participants have the option to run or roll over either 2.5km or 5km. The fun run is an opportunity for families and individuals of all abilities to show their allyship with people with physical disabilities and, in doing so, help raise funds for the Irish Wheelchair Association.
As part of Liberty’s support, 100% of the race registration fee of €20 goes to IWA, who will also benefit to the tune of €1 from Liberty Insurance for every participant in the race. Participants are also encouraged to donate to Irish Wheelchair Association.
Research conducted earlier this summer on behalf of Liberty found that more than four in five (87%) grassroots Irish sports clubs want to do more to support people with disabilities, as well as identifying numerous challenges in growing participation rates amongst people with disabilities, including inadequate facilities, a lack of specialised equipment and inadequate funding.
The research was published in advance of the AccessAbility Symposium, which Liberty hosted on Thursday, 20 July, in Croke Park, Dublin.
The event sought to explore how the Irish sports community and its stakeholders can grow participation rates amongst people with disabilities.
ENERGIA BACKING RUGBY FOR ALL OVER FIVE YEARS WITH LEINSTER RUGBY
Energia have launched the ‘Rugby for All’ initiative in partnership with Leinster Rugby. It is aimed at giving people with a love of the game who have a physical or learning disabilities to ‘Think of the Possibilities’ by getting involved in ‘Rugby for All’ in their local communities.
Energia have conducted extensive research to understand the landscape of the game for those with physical and learning difficulties. From the resulting research findings, they have planned a significant level of activity over the remainder of the partnership with Leinster Rugby which runs to 2028.
Over the coming months, activity will include a mixed ability blitz which will take place at Energia Park on Sunday the 10th of September while Energia are currently in the process of issuing sensory toolkits to rugby clubhouses across Leinster with aim of making the trip to their local club more enjoyable for those with sensory issues.
James Martin, the world’s first actor with Down Syndrome to win an Oscar award, and an active tag rugby player was on hand to help launch the initiative as an ambassador.
TEAM IRELAND WINNERS IN SO MANY WAYS AT WORLD GAMES
Team Ireland completed their adventure at the Special Olympics World Games at the weekend, bringing home a haul of 24 Gold, 23 Silver and 29 Bronze medals.
These included wins in the Men’s Football and the Women’s Basketball team events and no fewer than nine Gold medals in the Artistic Gymnastics category.
It is an incredible Games to be a part of and while we still inevitably judge the final tally in terms of medals it is actually worth so much more.
Paul O’ Flynn’s nightly reports into the RTÉ News will have brought a smile to everyone who saw them. It would be impossible not to be moved by the joy and the excitement of taking part on the faces of all the athletes who travelled to Berlin at the conclusion of a World Games cycle that was more challenging than any other as a result of Covid.
CANOEING IRELAND ON SITE AT NATIONAL REHABILITATION HOSPITAL
Canoeing Ireland and the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dublin have announced a new joint collaborative initiative with the inclusion of kayaking as a rehabilitation exercise in the new state-of-the-art aquatic physiotherapy pool at the NRH.
Having put a particular emphasis on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the past number of years, Canoeing Ireland are extremely excited to open up the world of Paddlesports to the patients of the NRH and are committed to working towards creating a culture of equity and inclusivity by ensuring the sport is accessible to as many people as possible.
The NRH Aquatics Physiotherapy Department actively collaborates with external sporting organisations to provide opportunities for people of all abilities to participate in sports that they may have been involved in prior to their admission to the NRH, or have been exposed to for the first time during their rehabilitation programme.
NEXT GEN PARA SWIMMERS GIVEN CHANCE TO SHINE
Paralympics Ireland and title Sponsor, Permanent TSB, with the support of Swim Ireland, hosted the first Permanent TSB NextGen Swim event at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre last Saturday, June 10th.
The event, the first of its kind in Ireland, ran in tandem with the Permanent TSB NextGen Programme that has brought Para Sport to Galway, Cork and Lisburn throughout May and June.
The swimming edition of the event saw potential athletes gather together at the iconic swimming venue where they were put through their paces by expert Paralympics Ireland coaches and Paralympians, including Para Swimming Performance Director and Paralympic Gold medallist, Dave Malone, along with Paralympic silver medallist and current star, Nicole Turner.
ZERO LIMITS TRACK DAY BACK FOR THIRD YEAR
The Vision Sports Ireland Zero Limits Track Day returns to the Mondello Park circuit on Tuesday July 25th and Wednesday July 26th 2023.
This brilliant initiative is now in its third year, in partnership with MotorSport Ireland, Mondello Park and event sponsor Windsor Motors.
It allows blind and vision impaired participants the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a dual controlled road car around the Mondello Park circuit in the morning, and then in the afternoon, to become rally co-drivers alongside some of Ireland’s finest rally drivers.
To date Vision Sports Ireland has supported 115 participants aged 13 to 87 with this unforgettable experience. With Windsor Motor Groups support for the 2023 event, the aim is to double the impact to 120 participants across the two-day event.
MIXED ABILITY PARTNERSHIP FOR 2023 HEINEKEN CUP FINAL
Ahead of its showpiece finals in Dublin this weekend, EPCR, organiser of the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, has announced a collaboration with International Mixed Ability Rugby Tournament (IMART), building on Heineken Ireland’s sponsorship of the tournament last year.
IMART is an innovative tournament run by International Mixed Ability Sports (IMAS) whose aims are to break down barriers to participation in sport, to promote social inclusion and to generate long-term positive change in communities.
IMART brought together no fewer than 28 teams, including four women’s sides, 1,100 players and 15 nations, giving people with and without disabilities the chance to participate in rugby as well as in educational workshops.
The first edition of the tournament took place in Bradford, England in 2015, the second was held in the Spanish city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2017, and the third was staged in Cork, Ireland in 2022.
