Para- Sport day supported by GB athletes

Berkshire Disability Sport hosted a Para-Sport day on Friday 7th June 2013 at Bracknell Leisure Centre. With 41 attendees and 5 sports available to try out, the day was a huge success.

The day was supported by Melissa Nicholls - London 2012 Paralympian & World Record Holder and Lucie Bouron- GB Elite development squad for Women's wheelchair basketball and wheelchair table tennis, and local SportsAble member.

The 5 activities included taster sessions in canoeing, archery, athletics and wheelchair basketball and demonstration from wheelchair dance run by local clubs and organisations. With the clubs being from the local area this was easy for all of the attendees to find out information about how to keep active in their new found sport.

A Team Berkshire Volunteer said "The standard of the young people is really impressive, the wheelchair racing has particularly impressed me today."

One of the participants said "I got 210 on the Indoor Canoeing challenge and my teacher is going to speak to the coach about doing some Indoor Canoeing at school because we did so good. I enjoyed it so much and want to have another go!"

The day was a great success and an inspiration to all of the young people who attended. Being able to speak to GB role models and not only trying the different sports but being put through their paces, which as a result 4 young people were talent identified.

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Note to editors

About Berkshire Disability Sport :

Get Berkshire Active also support the work of Berkshire Disability Sport, which is a county group set up in 2010 with four main priorities: • To raise the profile of disability sport • To get more people taking part • To work with NGBs to boost the number of clubs, coaches and volunteers in disability sport • To develop a competition structure for disability sport.

The organisation oversees the work of three ‘hub’ sites (East, Central and West) across Berkshire which are active in promoting and developing opportunities for disabled people to get involved in sport in their local area.

To get involved with Berkshire Disability Sport or one of the three hub groups across Berkshire please contact group on the following contact details

East hub- Nick Gibbs (SportsAble): [email protected]

Central Hub - Jamie Walker: [email protected]

West Hub - James Mandry: [email protected]