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Disability
charity Optua has run seven Showcase Days
across Suffolk,
allowing hundreds of people with disabilities to try a huge range
of disability and Paralympic Sports. The
eighth takes place later this month at Northgate Sports Centre, Ipswich on 24th July as part
of the London 2012 Open Weekend.
The
Showcase Days are part of Optua Disability Sport
Academy, a
project directly inspired by the 2012 Paralympic
Games which aims to get more disabled people into sport. The events
are accessible to people of all ages and all disabilities and have
been held in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Sudbury,
Lowestoft, Mildenhall, Stowmarket and Woodbridge.
Each one has been very exciting and has also enabled the community
to come together by involving local leisure facilities, sports
coaches and volunteers.
Colin
Poole, Chief Executive of Optua, said:
“This is fantastic news and I’m delighted we have been given the
2012 Inspire Mark. Our Showcase Days have inspired many disabled
people to get into sport and it all started with the news that the
Olympic and Paralympic Games were coming
to the UK.
We came up with this idea on the day it was announced and five
years later we are very proud what we have achieved! There are
people aiming to be part of the Paralympic
Games who we’ve helped and many more who now take part in regular
sport and gain the social and health benefits this gives them. We
know that sport can change people’s lives and the benefits will go
on well beyond 2012.”
As
well as the Disability Showcase Days, Optua
has also helped to set up and support disability sport clubs and
opportunities across Suffolk
and beyond. Optua has also worked closely
with other key organisations such as Suffolk County Council and
Suffolk Sport who are working to ensure Suffolk makes the most of
the opportunities which the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games present.
“This
is the first disability-sport Inspire project in our region and the
Disability Showcase Days demonstrate Optua’s
great work in increasing and promoting participation in sport and
physical activity, whilst strongly contributing to London 2012’s
vision of inclusivity,” said Joseph Ballard, London 2012 Inspire
Programmer for the East of England.
Further
information about Disability Sport in Suffolk, or the Showcase Day
on 24th July, is available from 01473 836770
or by email at sdsa@optua.org.uk. Details
of how to register can also be found at www.beyourbest.org.uk
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