£207,220 boost for disability sport in Devon
Active Devon has been awarded a grant of £207,220 from Sport England to develop inclusive sporting opportunities for disabled people. The Inclusive Sport programme is designed to increase the number of young people (aged 14+) and adults regularly playing sport as part of Sport England’s wider commitment to increasing regular sport participation by disabled people.
Active Devon will aim to establish over 30 Opportunity Clubs across Devon providing sport and physical activity for young people and adults with disabilities. The programme will also support and develop local coaches and volunteers delivering activity to disabled people.
The Devon Opportunity Clubs will be one of 44 projects across England that will benefit from £8.06 million of National Lottery investment from Sport England to open up more opportunities for disabled people to play sport.
Matt Evans, Chief Executive of Active Devon, said:
“I am delighted that Sport England recognised the impact Active Devon can achieve through Devon Opportunity Clubs. It will give disabled people throughout Devon the chance to enjoy the benefits that sport and a healthy active lifestyle can bring.”
Active Devon would like to thank their partners, Devon County Council, Living Options, Plymouth City Council, Sported and the University of St Mark & St John for their support and commitment to the project.
Councillor John Hart, Leader of Devon County Council, said:
“This is excellent news for Active Devon and a great opportunity for disabled people across the county to get involved in sport and physical activity. The funding is recognition of the excellent bid submitted by Active Devon and we’re pleased to be part of the team supporting this extremely worthwhile programme.”
Diana Crump, Chief Executive of Living Options said:
“Whilst Active Devon has always promoted inclusion for disabled people through sport, this bid takes that commitment to a new level. Disabled people have been involved in the writing of the bid and will continue to be involved in future developments. A new strategic Board will bring different organisations together to further increase opportunities for local disabled people who are interested in getting involved with sporting activities”.
Sport England’s Inclusive Sport Fund supports programmes that aim to increase the number of disabled people playing sport. Since the fund launched, £17.1 million has been invested in 88 projects that make sport a viable lifestyle choice for disabled people.
As well as funding disability sport programmes, Sport England also funds equipment. In addition to today's £8.06 million announcement, Sport England also recently awarded £1 million to 141 clubs across England to help them buy equipment to open up sport to disabled people.
In 2013, Sport England invested £2million into the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) to help accelerate our strategy to increase sports participation over two years. They have also directly funded six disability sports organisations to advise, support and guide other sports governing bodies as they create opportunities for participation by disabled people. British Blind Sport, Cerebral Palsy Sport, Dwarf Sport Association UK, WheelPower, UK Deaf Sport and Mencap Sport/Special Olympics GB all received a share of £1.3 million of National Lottery funding to make this happen.
Active Devon will be hosting a launch event later this summer to promote the Opportunity Clubs programme and existing local clubs and inclusive sport providers. If you are an organisation supporting disabled people and interested in providing inclusive sport and physical activity please contact James Bogue on james.bogue@devon.gov.uk
