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Mole Valley District Council awarded £45,000 through Inclusive Sport Fund

Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) is delighted to announce that the district's residents will be able to access a host of new sporting opportunities thanks to a grant of £45,000 from Sport England's Inclusive Sport Fund.

The MVDC Inclusive Sport Programme will focus on providing new equal sporting opportunities for disabled people and connecting non-disabled and disabled athletes through many exciting sports including multi-impairment and Visually Impaired football as well as inclusive golf.

This is one of 44 projects across England to benefit from £8.06 million of National Lottery investment from Sport England to create more opportunities for disabled people to play sport.

According to national figures, only 18% of disabled people take part in sport at least once a week compared with 39% of non-disabled people. While 70% of disabled people claim they would like to participate in more sporting activities, 60% cite a lack of available opportunities as the main barrier to them doing so.

Disabled people and families of all ages will be able to try a variety of sports of their choice including football, golf, cricket and cycling at a taster day in late 2014. At the taster day, which is aimed at Mole Valley's disabled residents, but is also open to those who are non-disabled, visitors will be able to discover many exciting sporting services and activities in their area. They will be introduced to a new Inclusive Sports and Physical Activity Guide.

The guide will be pulled together using the funding from Sport England to enable residents to browse inclusive sport and physical activity clubs and activities in Mole Valley. It will be made available online and in hard copy. For more information about forthcoming inclusive sport opportunities in the district, email the Sports and Communities Officer at sport@molevalley.gov.uk

Mole Valley's Inclusive Sport and Physical Activity Programme (part of Sport England's wider Inclusive Sport Programme) will also offer five new annual sports sessions for the next three years until late 2016 and an Inclusive Sports and Physical Activity forum within the district.

Grant funding awarded to Mole Valley District Council follow a wider MVDC-led Inclusive Sports and Physical Activity consultation held in 2013. Results show three quarters of disabled people in Mole Valley would like greater access to sports including golf, bowls, boccia, cycling and swimming.

Mole Valley District Council Chief Executive, Yvonne Rees, said:

"A key aim of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was to inspire a generation. The fantastic news that Mole Valley District Council has been awarded this money will ensure we can help provide increased opportunities for our residents in the future and secure a legacy from the Games. MVDC is committed to improving access to services and increasing sports provision for disabled people within the district and I'm delighted Mole Valley's disabled residents can access many exciting inclusive sports activities through the great work of MVDC and its partners."

The number of disabled people playing sport regularly is on the rise. In December 2013, Sport England’s Active People Survey - an annual, in-depth measure of the nation’s sporting habits – revealed that a record number of disabled people in England now play sport each week. However, non-disabled people are still twice as likely to play sport as disabled people (39.2 per cent compared to 18.5 per cent) which is why Sport England continues to focus attention and investment to address this imbalance.

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.