Good luck team – let’s support changes beyond the Games
As the Paralympic Games open this evening in Paris we send good luck to all athletes competing and echo the need for these Games to build meaningful change.
Over the next ten days elite athletes will be sure to wow millions watching on across the world. Their hard work and determination will see them top podiums, achieve personal bests and compete at the very highest standard. From track and field to wheelchair fencing.
To everyone competing, and all those supporting ParalympicsGB, we are sending the very best of luck.
We know many disabled people do not want to or cannot compete in elite sports. Disabled people deserve the same rights and opportunities to be active as their non-disabled peers. This is wherever, and in whatever activities they choose to.
For many organisations providing the athletes’ club and pathway support, we are proud how our work has helped to embed inclusive practices. Working with other expert partners, there are many programmes and resources available to empower clubs and leaders at a local level.
As the eyes of the nation are on Paris it can be easy to get swept up in the emotion of a Paralympic Games. As we enjoy this major event, we need to also take a moment to ensure that there are genuine changes so many more disabled people can enjoy an active lifestyle. It is not right or fair that disabled people continue to miss out in their local communities.
Our latest Annual Disability and Activity Survey showed disabled people are still being left behind when trying to access sports and physical activities. Only four in 10 disabled people feel they have the opportunity to be active as they want to be, compared to seven in 10 non-disabled people.
The importance of harnessing the legacy of the Paralympic Games is clear, with three quarters (76%) of disabled people expressing a desire to be more active. Respondents in the survey praised the Games as an example of much-needed positive representation of disabled people. However, the extraordinary achievements of the country’s top athletes felt far removed from disabled people’s own lives and experiences.
Although changes can be made by providers in sports and activities, government can help to improve opportunities. In April, we released a manifesto with three main asks of policymakers to ensure disabled people have equal access to sport and physical activity. They are:
Protect the benefits
Provide clearer understanding and wider safeguarding to reassure disabled people that being regularly active will not threaten their benefits and other forms of government financial assistance
Equip health and care workers
With NHS, ensure that better processes are in place for health and care workers to support disabled people to use physical activity in ways which work best for them.
Increase accessible outdoor spaces
Take a leading role in promoting and legislating design standards that ensure accessibility in local and national spaces.
The wider impact
We will celebrate the success and share the passion for sport. Many athletes will have a story about the inequalities they tackled to reach the pinnacle of their sporting career. This is a chance to understand the many layers of barriers that disabled people face when trying to be active. From education to travel, to employment.
We have an opportunity to significantly improve the opportunities that disabled people have in sports and physical activities. As we cheer on our Paralympic heroes, a statistic hits home. Disabled people are less than half as likely to ‘see people like them’ playing, working, and volunteering in sport and physical activity. Once the gold dust settles in Paris, we have an opportunity to change that, it must be now. For our country, the legacy must be more than medals.
To find inclusive activities in your local area visit the Every Body Moves activity finder.
