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DISABLED SPORT CALENDAR 2009-2010

Football 7-a-side Introduced to BT Paralympic World Cup

 

BT Paralympics World Cup

Leading North West football players were today on hand to help welcome Football 7-a-side to the 2010 BT Paralympic World Cup. Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given and Burnley FC players Wade Elliott and Michael Duff took part in a sport demonstration at the Manchester Arndale with members of the British Football 7-a-side team to highlight the sport.

In a year which sees the Football world compete for ultimate honours at the FIFA World Cup, the annual BT Paralympic World Cup acknowledges the sporting prowess of elite disability players in the Football 7-a-side game, which is an adaption of the sport for athletes with cerebral palsy and invites teams from Great Britain, the Netherlands, USA and the Republic of Ireland to compete.

Said Shay Given said: “The BT Paralympic World Cup has become a well known event in Manchester and it’s fantastic to see Football 7-a-side introduced as a new sport. The team has a lot of talent and we wish the GB squad competing in the event the best of luck and will keep an eye on their progress through the competition.”

The sport will add an exciting new dimension to the BT Paralympic World Cup in a city renowned for its Football heritage and its support for disability Football leagues. The event will be held in Manchester from 25 to 31 May.

The countries have been selected to align with a new team challenge which sees Great Britain take on teams from Europe, the Americas and the Rest of the World, competing across four sports for the BT Paralympic World Cup trophy. Football 7-a-side joins Wheelchair Basketball, Swimming and Athletics, which continue as events for the sixth consecutive year.

Following a review of the event and to enable other Paralympic sports to receive key competition and exposure in the build up to London 2012, Track Cycling will not feature in 2010.

ParalympicsGB Chief Executive Phil Lane has welcomed the new sport and team format and said: “We are delighted to have Football 7-a-side included in the BT Paralympic World Cup, which we believe will be the World Cup to watch this year.

“An exciting new team format has also been introduced to promote elite disability sport on the world stage and will give the opportunity for the GB team to demonstrate their sporting abilities and take on the best of the rest of the world as we increasingly look forward to the prospect of a home Paralympic Games in 2012. I know that Manchester will again do a fantastic job to stage what has proven to be a crucial event for leading Paralympic athletes.”

British Football 7-a-side team captain Jordan Raynes said: “I’m very excited that Football 7-a-side has been included in the BT Paralympic World Cup. I live and play in Manchester, where we have a strong following for our county disability league and to now have international competition in my home city means so much to me. To have an elite event outside of the Paralympic Games with other leading Football nations will be imperative to the team’s progression as we look forward to the 2012 Paralympic Games and look to build on our seventh place finish in Beijing in 2008.”
The BT Paralympic World Cup is the largest annual international multi-sport competition in elite sport for persons with a disability. Over 400 athletes from 31 different countries are expected to participate at two world class venues, the Manchester Regional Arena and Manchester Aquatics Centre.

The BT Paralympic World Cup is sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), CPISRA and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and supported by ParalympicsGB, the FA, BT, Manchester City Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the NWDA said: “The BT Paralympic World Cup makes a significant contribution of more than £1million to the regional economy every year and in 2010 the competition will be bigger and better than ever before. As a region with a passion for Football it is excellent to see that Football is a new inclusion this year and I hope that even more visitors will be encouraged to come.”

The BBC, the official televised partner to the event, will again broadcast highlights and live coverage from the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Monday 31 May 2010 on BBC Television.
BT’s four year sponsorship runs up to and includes the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup. BT’s rights include extensive branding at all events, tickets and other additional marketing rights. UK Sport has this year withdrawn funding for the event after a review of their investment for major events, which now sits with individual sports rather than multi sport competitions.
Tickets for the BT Paralympic World Cup will be available from March 2010. For more information, please visit www.btparalympicworldcup.com.

The event schedule will see Athletics on 25 May, Football 7-a-side on 26-29 May and Wheelchair Basketball on 27-30 May, all at the Manchester Regional Arena and Swimming at the Manchester Aquatics Centre on 30-31 May.

 

 

For full information, schedule and results ...

The latest news & videos ..
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Paralympic ski stars go for gold as their funds are heading downhill fast

IN fewer than five weeks time, the Winter Paralympics will get underway in Vancouver.

About 600 athletes from 45 countries will compete in five sports during the Games. Among them will be Britain's Paralympic team consisting of five mixed wheelchair curlers and an Alpine skiing team.

For those taking part, it will be one of the greatest moments of their lives, at a time when disabled sport is becoming increasingly popular, both among competitors and spectators.

Over the past decade or so, athletes like Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and David Roberts have helped to raise the profile of disabled sport, culminating in the Paralympic Games in Beijing two years ago when Britain's team outstripped expectations to win 102 medals, finishing second only to China in the final table. Millions of TV viewers watched a string of emotional gold medal performances from the British team, known as Paralympics GB, which has sent expectations soaring for London's 2012 Games.

But these days sporting success is all about investment, even the Olympics.UK Sport, the elite sports agency, has been awarded more than £260m to spend on Olympic sports between 2009 and 2013, while Paralympic sport has been allocated over £47m.

This is big money, particularly given the economic situation, but it has to cover everything from archery and cycling to judo and swimming. And when it comes to Alpine sports, funds are limited. Olympic sport received £5.8m for this year's Winter Games from UK Sport's World Class Performance Programme, while Paralympic sport was given just £650,000.

Paralympic skier Jane Sowerby is one of Britain's best medal hopes in Vancouver, but even for elite athletes like her, finding the money to compete in major events is a constant struggle.

"We do get some government funding, which is better than nothing, but it's such an expensive sport it doesn't cover half the training costs. It is really tough, I've spent every single penny I have and if it wasn't for the support and generosity of family and friends I wouldn't be able to continue," she says.

One of the biggest problems is that Alpine sports don't have the same high-profile as athletics, swimming or even cycling, although Sowerby, who's from Guiseley, near Leeds, believes events like skiing are becoming more popular in Britain.

"It used to be seen as a bit elitist but with more people taking it up hopefully there will be more interest in the Winter Olympics, which is important particularly for disabled skiing because a lot of people don't know it even exists, I didn't until after my accident."

Sowerby was paralysed from the waist down after falling and breaking her back in 2003, and has been racing competitively for more than three years, after taking up the sport following a trip to the National Sports Centre for the Disabled in the US, organised by The Back-Up Trust.

But, even in this relatively short space of time, she says that disabled skiing in Britain is being taken more seriously. "A few years ago, there were only a couple of members of the team and they pretty much did it off their own backs. Whereas now we're fortunate to have the British Paralympic Association behind us and since then it's a lot more organised."

The standard of competition is rising all the time, she says, and the key now is to encourage greater public interest. "It's a fantastic spectator sport, to watch a sit skier flying downhill at 100km an hour is incredible. And if more people become aware of it then they can't fail to be impressed."

Jo Willoughby is a fellow member of the British Disabled Ski Team. She, too, has to rely on raising her own money in order to continue competing. "It gets down to brass tacks at times, it can be a pretty hand-to-mouth existence," she says candidly. Each year Willoughby has to raise about £70,000.

She receives a grant worth £12,500 from UK Sport which leaves a £57,500 shortfall that she has to find elsewhere. "It's not easy and I'm constantly travelling around giving talks to firms, rotary club members and local organisations to try and drum up support."

Her skis cost £1,000 a pair and she needs at least eight pairs due to damage and general wear and tear, while ski waxing and technology kits cost another £2,000. And then there are the hidden costs."Because of the extent of my disability I need to have a buddy with me 24-7 and I have to fund their costs too. I have to pay for their accommodation, food and travel and for them to be there, so that's another big cost."

The Barnsley-based skier has been helped in her fund-raising efforts by Welcome to Yorkshire. "They really came up trumps by providing money for a van. Before that, we had to fly to places like Germany and Austria and you're paying £1,000 for all the excess baggage each time you fly, so having a van has made such a difference."

Although she's extremely grateful for this support, she would like to see more sponsors backing Britain's disabled athletes. "I was reading an interview with Jessica Ennis a while back, in which she was saying how much Sheffield had helped her, and I think it would be great if more local businesses started supporting more local athletes because it's fantastic publicity and it raises awareness." However, it's not only the athletes who suffer financial hardships. Willoughby says coaches are affected, too. "They would love to work with their athletes full-time but they can't afford to. A lot of them work on a volunteer basis and my coach has been doing this for years. But if we had more coaches working full time it would help us get more medals in competitions, which raises the profile of the
athletes and attracts more sponsorship."

And herein lies the problem. Countries like Canada, Austria and Switzerland have a strong Alpine heritage that Britain simply doesn't possess. Yet, without more investment, we won't be able to compete with the best.

UK Sport has to juggle a finite pot of money that is handed out to various sports based around athletes' past performance and future potential. As Tim Reddish, chairman of Paralympics GB, explains, priority is given to the best medal prospects. "It seems a bit brutal, but it's a hierarchy and the better you are, the more likely you are to get funding."

The British Paralympic Association pays for all the food, kit and travel of British athletes competing in the both the Summer and Winter Games. Reddish says the difference between the two of them is down to profile and points out that Britain will take about a dozen athletes to Vancouver in March,
while in Beijing, the British swimming team had 35 people competing.

Having said that, Paralympic sport has never been as popular as it is now, which is why the nternational Paralympic Committee has said this week that ensuring free TV coverage of the 2012 Paralympics was "fundamental" to who was chosen to broadcast the Games in the UK.

"Since the early '90s, it's just escalated, says Reddish. "The turning point was Sydney in 2000 and then in Beijing when Eleanor Simmonds was up there crying her eyes after winning a gold medal, it just blew everyone away. There was a media explosion, and what we're seeing now is the media
starting to look at the athletic performance rather than the impairment."

"There are challenges regarding funding, and because we are not a winter sports nation the winter paralympians don't get the same profile as the summer athletes. So we need to work together with UK Sport to support our winter paralympic athletes because they have earned the right to the same
level of exposure."


The Winter Paralympics, March 12-21.


 

Calling all Disabled cyclists in the UK 

2010 Disability Circuit Race SeriesBritish Cycling are pleased to announce the dates of the 2010 Disability Circuit Race Series. The races will be held on a mixture of circuits used last year. For example ‘Salt Ayre’ and Hillingdon, as well as new ones including Sundorne in Shrewsbury and Upavon in Wiltshire.

Round 3 will also incorporate the National Championships at the well established Horwich Carnival on 20th of June. No stranger to holding major events, this closed-road town centre race has hosted cycling events since 1946. Expect thousands lining the street and a carnival atmosphere!

The series will consist of five rounds and following the success of last years series, will be held using the same format. However, there will be a significant change due to the introduction of a new classification system by the UCI.

This will mean that all riders will be put into new classifications which will particularly affect LC and CP riders who will now be combined into the new C Class. The new classifications will be assigned by British Cycling and to enable us to do this, you will be asked to supply details about your disability so that you can be accurately assigned a new category.

The series is aimed both at disabled cyclists who wish to compete for the first time, or for more experienced disabled riders. Those with aspirations of riding for the successful Team GB squad are encouraged to compete as there will development coaches present to scout for talented riders. If you
are interested in competing at the series or would like further information, please contact disability@britishcycling.org.uk for further information.

Round 1:
Saturday 20 March Sundorne Circuit, Shrewsbury. Details

Round 2:
Saturday 29 May – Salt Ayre, Lancashire. Details

Round 3:
(inc. BC National Disability Circuit Champs) Sunday 20 June Horwich,
Lancashire. Details

Round 4:
Sunday 18 July Upavon, Wiltshire. Details


Round 5:
Saturday 25 September Hillingdon, Middlesex. Details

Phil Godfrey, Disability Co-ordinator of British Cycling.

Please see the British Cycling web site and get in touch with Phil if you’re interested.

 

 

A national children's charity is hoping the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, which start in Vancouver next month following the Winter Olympics, will inspire young people with disabilities to take up new sports.

 

Caudwell Children is hoping the games will increase interest in its Enable Sport programme, which provides specialist equipment to young people with disabilities.

The programme was launched in 2008, to show children with disabilities that they can take part in a wide range of sports.

Since then it has made hundreds of donations of adapted equipment for sports including football, athletics and basketball. It has donated adapted wheelchairs for footballers, specialist swimming goggles, ice skates and gymnastic equipment.

Ryan Abrahams, aged 14, from Bradley Stoke near Bristol, received a £5000 powered wheelchair from the programme to allow him to play football for the Villa Rockets in Birmingham.

His mother, Mary Abrahams, said: "We were overwhelmed with the donation from Caudwell Children.

"Playing with his friends at Villa and doing so well has really improved his confidence. The new chair is going to further improve his independence and make him an even happier young man."

Now the charity hopes the winter games will increase interest further, with children keen to participate in winter sports such as skiing.

Lee Pearson, nine-time para-equestrianism gold medal winner and Enable Sport ambassador, said: "International events like this raise the awareness of disability sports and hopefully inspire youngsters to take up new sports or set themselves goals of competing at the highest level.

"Enable Sport can help these sporting aspirations by providing the necessary equipment, which can often cost thousands of pounds."

Trudi Beswick, CEO of Caudwell Children, said: "We are not expecting a rush of applications for ice wheelchairs and skis but we hope the achievements of our Paralympic athletes will inspire some children to see what sports they could get involved in.

"The funding for specialist sports equipment through our Enable Sport initiative is still available and we want to help more sporting youngsters achieve their full potential."

The games in Vancouver will be the 10th Paralympic Winter Games. About 600 athletes from 45 countries are expected to compete in sports from alpine skiing to wheelchair curling.

Caudwell Children provides donations of treatments, therapies and specialist equipment throughout the UK. To date the charity has donated more than £11 million to thousands of children.

 For more information, visit www.caudwellchildren.com.

 

NADS is pleased to announce that the first disabled fans forum of 2010 will take place at Bristol City FC on 26th February 2010. It will commence at 13.00 for 13.30 and finish at 16.00. Everyone is welcome.

To book your place please email info@nads.org.uk or call 0845 230 6237 by 5th February with your contact details and any special requirements you may have.

We will send all attendees further information and directions ahead of the forum.
File:2010 FIFA World Cup logo.svgGary Benham's World Cup Blog

Gary is the Head of Communications at the British High Commission in Pretoria. To keep up to date on what is happening in the run
up to the World Cup 2010 please go to
http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/benham/entry/230_days_to_go_the

We also want to
hear from disabled England fans hoping to go out to South
Africa for the World Cup and if your not going, then why
not. Please drop us a line with your plans or not as the
case may be to the usual address - info@nads.org.uk.