Youngsters given chance to shine

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Youngsters dreaming of competing for Britain at a future Paralympic Games will today get the chance to demonstrate their sporting abilities in the hope of being talent-spotted ahead for the 2016 and 2020 Games.

The assessment day, held at the Brickfields Centre in Plymouth, is part of the national Playground to Podium programme which will help address the fact that, at present, only a quarter of 16-19 year olds with a disability play sport regularly, compared to a third of non-disabled youngsters. 

The programme has been set up by Sport England, the Youth Sport Trust and ParalympicsGB to give disabled athletes the same sporting opportunities as their non-disabled counterparts and as a result, widen the talent pool for disability sport. Active Devon, the county sports partnership for Devon, is co-ordinating the event in Plymouth.

Playground to Podium isn't just helping the most talented athletes. Every young person entering the programme is being directed towards further sporting opportunities - be it club participation or further coaching - part of a lasting Paralympic participation legacy.

For the first time, school teachers are being trained in recognising potential talent in young disabled people - with those recognised going onto receive quality PE teaching in schools and coaching in clubs. The activity is part of the Government’s drive to give all young people the chance to take part in five hours a week of high quality PE and sport.

The assessment day will see young people participating in football, wheelchair basketball, table tennis and athletics with coaches and talent scouts from the relevant sports governing bodies on hand to provide expert guidance.

British Paralympic gold medal swimmer, Sascha Kindred OBE, attended the assessment day to see for himself how the youngsters were working towards achieving their own Paralympic dreams. He said:

“It’s great to visit the Playground to Podium event in Plymouth today to see the young people taking part and enjoying a range of different sports. I hope by sharing some of my experiences of sport at the very top level during the day I can motivate and inspire them to perform to their very best ability.”

Playground to Podium will help to create a clear and professional disability sport pathway from school sport, through to club participation and - for the talented few - onto elite performance.

Alison Oliver, Youth Sport Trust's Director of Sport, said:

“The Youth Sport Trust is proud to be involved in Playground to Podium, which has the ultimate aim of engaging more young disabled people in sport and producing our next generation of Paralympians and elite disabled athletes. Our support to teachers to help spot potential talent, our multi-sport clubs that look to develop sporting skills, and our ability days that assess the potential of young people are all important steps on the Playground to Podium ladder. It will be hugely rewarding to see young people who have been involved in this initiative reaching the top of their sport and going on to claim their first gold medals.”