Paralympian Caroline calls for more people to get active
Friday, 15th April 2011.
With 500 days until the London 2012 Paralympic Games, Suffolk’s aspiring Paralympic athletes have joined forces to encourage more disabled people in the county to take up sport and physical activity.
According to the most recent annual figures from Sport England, the number of disabled people in Suffolk who take part in sport and physical activity regularly has fallen from 10.9 per cent in 2007/08 to 8.4 per cent in 2009/10.
These figures are in contrast to participation rates for non-disabled people in Suffolk – where in 2009/10 26.1 per cent of people were active regularly – an increase of 1.7 per cent since 2007/08.
This places Suffolk below national levels for disability sports participation.
Wheelchair basketball player Caroline Maclean from Haverhill, who hopes to represent Great Britain at the Paralympic Games for the fourth time in 2012, said: “I would encourage everybody, whether they have a disability or not, to get involved in sport and physical activity.
"I know from personal experience that there are many great opportunities in Suffolk to give sport a go. With the Paralympic Games now just 500 days away there has never been a better time to get involved.”
Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Sport and disability charity Optua, have been working together to produce a DVD guide to help disabled people get into sport in Suffolk.
The guide is being distributed to schools, clubs and Leisure Centres across the county and a short video of highlights can be viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJO5Go4jkFc
John Clough, Director of Suffolk Sport, the organisation responsible for the development of sport in Suffolk, said: “Although other counties in the East of England are experiencing similar declines in terms of disability sports participation these figures represent a worrying trend.
“Given that the cost to health services in Suffolk of physical inactivity is around £10 million per year we must continue to try and make Suffolk a healthier more physically active county.
“For this reason I am pleased to back this push to use the milestone of 500 days to go to the London 2012 Paralympics to highlight the range and diversity of disability sport clubs and sessions that exist in Suffolk.”
A comprehensive guide to all the disability clubs and opportunities in Suffolk is also available for download from Optua’s Disability Sport Academy website at www.beyourbest.org.uk
According to the most recent annual figures from Sport England, the number of disabled people in Suffolk who take part in sport and physical activity regularly has fallen from 10.9 per cent in 2007/08 to 8.4 per cent in 2009/10.
These figures are in contrast to participation rates for non-disabled people in Suffolk – where in 2009/10 26.1 per cent of people were active regularly – an increase of 1.7 per cent since 2007/08.
This places Suffolk below national levels for disability sports participation.
Wheelchair basketball player Caroline Maclean from Haverhill, who hopes to represent Great Britain at the Paralympic Games for the fourth time in 2012, said: “I would encourage everybody, whether they have a disability or not, to get involved in sport and physical activity.
"I know from personal experience that there are many great opportunities in Suffolk to give sport a go. With the Paralympic Games now just 500 days away there has never been a better time to get involved.”
Suffolk County Council, Suffolk Sport and disability charity Optua, have been working together to produce a DVD guide to help disabled people get into sport in Suffolk.
The guide is being distributed to schools, clubs and Leisure Centres across the county and a short video of highlights can be viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJO5Go4jkFc
John Clough, Director of Suffolk Sport, the organisation responsible for the development of sport in Suffolk, said: “Although other counties in the East of England are experiencing similar declines in terms of disability sports participation these figures represent a worrying trend.
“Given that the cost to health services in Suffolk of physical inactivity is around £10 million per year we must continue to try and make Suffolk a healthier more physically active county.
“For this reason I am pleased to back this push to use the milestone of 500 days to go to the London 2012 Paralympics to highlight the range and diversity of disability sport clubs and sessions that exist in Suffolk.”
A comprehensive guide to all the disability clubs and opportunities in Suffolk is also available for download from Optua’s Disability Sport Academy website at www.beyourbest.org.uk
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