Sportsability festival was a great day out
Sport and Fitness students from Ayrshire College were more than happy to once again help facilitate Ayrshire SportSability’s Festival of Sport.
Delivering a range of disability sports to around 500 young people, the event is a real highlight of the Sport students’ calendar.
The Festival of Sport took place at the Ayrshire Athletics Arena in Kilmarnock from September 26 to September 30, and allowed the participants to try out a variety of sports they may not usually have access to.
These included martial arts, cycling with all- ability bikes, rugby, volleyball, and boccia – an activity similar to bowls.
Ayrshire College is a keen promoter of disability sport and has a long history of assisting with Ayrshire Sportsability in providing opportunities for young people and adults with disabilities to participate in physical activity.
Groups of students from the College volunteered to help out across the week and were delighted with how the coaching sessions went.
Lauren McPike, 22 from Ayr, said: “You’re making their day.
“You want them to go away from this week delighted that they’ve been given a go at so many different sports.
“The whole event is about having fun and they have absolutely loved it.”
Kyle Ferries, 28 from Annbank, added: “The highlight of my year is definitely working at this event with Ayrshire SportSability.
“This is the one time of the year many of these young people get to come in and try out new skills and activities, so to see them enjoying it and going home with a smile on their face is fantastic.”
The Ayrshire SportSability Festival is organised in partnership with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, the three local council bodies, KA Leisure, Scottish Disability Sport, and sportscotland.
Scottish Conservative spokesperson for Health Education, Lifestyle and Sport Brian Whittle MSP dropped in on the Festival of Sport towards the end of the week to lend his support to the participants.
Wai- yin Hatton, co- founder of Ayrshire SportSability and former Ayrshire College board member, said: “This week has been absolute mayhem and I use that word in the most exciting sense. We’ve had nearly 500 people going through the whole week, and the noise in the hall is amazing.
“Young students are trying out different sports and we’ve seen them enjoy themselves. Thanks to everyone who was involved in this again.”
Ayrshire Sportsability is a local charity which offers children and young people with learning, emotional or physical disabilities the opportunity to try different types of sporting activities.