Fencing star welcomed home by minister
Inspired by the success of our Paralympics GB team, the Government has issued a rallying call for sport clubs across the country to take advantage of more than £100 million available to support disabled athletes and help disabled people get active.
The Minister for Disabled People, Justin Tomlinson, in unison with disability sports charity the Activity Alliance, is urging organisations to capitalise on the high profile of the Paralympic Games and make sport more accessible while supporting the next generation of medal winners.
Mr Tomlinson last week visited Team Bath at the Sports Training Village at the University of Bath – the training ground for seven Paralympians who competed in the Tokyo 2020 Games. He also met with Paralympic wheelchair fencing gold medallist Piers Gilliver, who has recently returned from Japan, to congratulate him on his achievements at the Games.
The UK Government recently announced it had increased support for Paralympic sports through UK Sport funding to £61.8 million for the next Paralympic Games, and Sport England will this year invest £40 million into a Tackling Inequalities Fund, which includes a specific focus on disabled people.
To help disabled people play sport and take part in physical activity, sports clubs, small and large, should visit the Sport England website (www. sportengland.org) to learn about the support available and apply for funding.
On his visit to Bath Mr Tomlinson said: “Our courageous Paralympians are a shining example of the lifechanging impact sport can play in people’s lives.
“The games showed that focusing on what people can do – rather than what they cannot – gets remarkable results. We don’t want anything to stand in the way of disabled people’s aspirations and through our National Disability Strategy have set out a clear path to improve their everyday lives.
“And this funding plays an important role in opening up sports for disabled people, even nurturing the next generation of Paralympic stars. That’s why today, I call on sporting clubs up and down the country to play their part to help those who want to become involved in sport at a recreational level and reap all the benefits it offers.”
Sport England have also reinforced their commitment to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for disabled people, through their new 10-year strategy, Uniting the Movement.
This includes continued funding for initiatives like the We are Undefeatable campaign and Tackling Inequalities Fund, and partnerships between Sport England and Disability Rights UK, Activity Alliance, Aspire, Sense, International Mixed Ability Sport.