This entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2012at 12:15 pm by anadmin

What is Sporting Chance?

How fantastic were the Paralympics? Having witnessed the big names of sport produce some of the most incredible moments in Olympic history just weeks previously, athletes with all manner of disabilities and impairments descended on London and performed feats that, previously, would have been thought of as impossible. Unachievable. Out of this world.

And yet they were proved possible. They were achieved. And they were all done very much in this world. The likes of David Weir, Ellie Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock, to name but a few, all proved that mankind can accomplish some pretty amazing things, even in circumstances and under limitations that make everyday life as difficult as it can be. We can all be proud that London 2012 provided these incredible human beings the opportunity to showcase their talents to the world like no other event has ever done before. And so we should be.

That word ‘opportunity’ is what Active Nation’s Sporting Chance scheme is all about. We want to increase the number of opportunities available for people with physical and mental disabilities to take part in sport and exercise, assist clubs and individuals in doing so, and eradicate any barriers that are preventing their participation.

‘What sort of barriers?’ we hear you ask. Well, if there is a lack of facilities or space for activities for disability sport and exercise, we’ll look to provide accessible facilities or space to allow them to take place. If specialist coaches, carers and equipment are needed for a disability group to take part in an activity, we’ll seek to fund such coaches, carers and equipment. We’ll work with disability focus groups in order to increase our understanding of the demand for sport and exercise activities for the disabled. Indeed, we’ll do whatever we can to help out, because we like being helpful. It’s in our nature.

By working closely with disability groups and disability sports development officers, both inside our centres and out in the community, to keep our finger on the pulse and make sure we’re meeting the specific needs of groups and individuals alike, we reckon we can help do some great things through Sporting Chance. Things like creating new disability sport clubs and offering advice to improve existing ones. Things like improving the quality and quantity of coaches and volunteers, without whom sports simply could not function. And things like increasing the awareness of disabled persons as to the sporting opportunities available to them, and of course, increasing the numbers participating in sport and exercise.

As such, each of our centres is further enabled to provide a balanced commercial programme of activities that provide suitable sporting opportunity and fun for all. Funding for groups and individuals is supported by the magnificent efforts of our very own Team Active Nation, as well as through the sales of the rather fetching products in our Active Essentials range.

In short, Sporting Chance aims to give people with disabilities a sporting chance (see what we did there…?). Of course, it’s a hundred times less remarkable than the feats of Paralympic athletes, but if we can get more disabled people active… well, we’ll be pretty chuffed.