Abdi wants to see Games inspire kids
LIVERPOOL PARALYMPIC medallist Abdi Jama is throwing his weight behind a programme aiming to use the excitement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire young people to get active.
Travel to Tokyo is part of Get Set, Team GB and ParalympicsGB’s youth engagement programme, with £2.6 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England, and support from partners including ukactive.
The programme aims to inspire young people aged 5–11, their classmates and families to try new activities and get active together in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
By joining athletes on a journey from London to Tokyo, participants will join half a million families across England in getting active and be in with the chance to learn new skills, have fun and win some fantastic prizes along the way and Jama is a keen advocate.
“There’s no better way to get young people active and keep them playing sport than if they encourage each other to do it,” said the wheelchair basketball ace, who won bronze at Beijing 2008.
“I have a small daughter and she loves coming to watch me train. My wife also comes along if I’m working on my own.
“It’s so cool that parents play a big role in the scheme, supporting young kids and even getting involved themselves in new sports.
“It’s not just in the lead-up to Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games,
we want people to keep doing things they love and stay active for the rest of their lives.”
Travel to Tokyo aims to address the fact that recent Sport England research shows four in five young people are not doing the 60 minutes of daily exercise recommended by the Chief Medical Officer.
By joining athletes on a journey from London to Tokyo, participants will be in with the chance to learn new skills, have fun and win prizes – like having top athletes visit their school – along the way.
Travel to Tokyo began with a bang as students and families came together to take part in a mass participation Japanese Sports day at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
And Jama, part of the Great Britain side crowned world champions in Germany last summer, felt the programme got off to the perfect start.
“The Olympic Park is an amazing venue and you can’t ask for anything better to start the countdown to Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said the 36-year-old.
“I love giving back but the young kids had a bit too much energy for me, I don’t think they stopped running from the moment they arrived!
“As athletes we do value public support so much. London 2012 was London 2012, but we need to keep that momentum going and keep the whole public involved.”
You can get involved in Travel to Tokyo youth engagement programme by visiting www.getset.co.uk/travel-tokyo/general