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New Activities for Disabled Community

Nationwide charity Active Nation and Winchester City Council have joined forces to expand Southampton’s ActiveAbility programme across Hampshire so that more disabled adults and teenagers can access sports, exercise and activities. Facilities including River Park Leisure Centre are now hosting a range of options from dance and football, to boccia and neuro fit.

An Active Nation powered activity programme, ActiveAbility Solent first started in Southampton in 2014. As the programme has expanded across the region, more than 33,000 activity sessions have been attended by 2,000 disabled adults and teenagers.

The team has a simple mission: to make sport, exercise and activity accessible. Delivered in the community, all programmes remove barriers which can otherwise deter disabled participants – like travel, cost and the need for specialist equipment.

Winchester City Council has a dedicated Sport and Physical Activity team who oversee all the district’s existing sporting needs and works with local sports clubs to encourage residents of all ages and abilities to be active, under the name ‘Active Winchester’.

Calum Drummond, Sports Development Manager for the Council, said “The Sport and Physical Activity team at Winchester City Council are delighted to work in partnership with Active Nation to contribute towards the objectives set out in the Winchester District Disability Sports Forum. Our aim is to develop and increase the amount of sport and physical activity on offer. By establishing this link with Active Nation, we are hopeful that this will be achieved and further opportunities will become available for young people and adults”.

By collaborating, ActiveAbility and Active Winchester are able to reach a much wider audience, beyond Southampton and across Hampshire. Residents in Winchester, Whiteley, Botley and Hedge End can now experience the same opportunities from their own local, specialist coaches and facilities.

Maxwell Bradbury-Knight, Active Nation’s Partnership Manager told us: “I’m very excited to be working even closer with Calum and the Sports Development Team at Winchester City Council. It’s always been very clear how disability sport, exercise and activity can have an incredible impact on the physical and mental health of those who we support. To be working in a new area to create more opportunities for the residents of Hampshire to prosper in their ability and qualify for higher levels of competition, is something I am very much excited to be involved in.”

Anyone wishing to get involved should visit www.activecommunity.org.uk/activeability and download a local disability activity programme.

For other enquiries please contact the Active Communities Team on 02380 784 131 or communities@activenation.org.uk

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