The leading voice in the UK for disabled people in sport and activity marked International Day for Disabled People (IDDP) with a call to make 2022 a year of creating more opportunities, amplifying more voices and developing more innovative and accessible ways to enjoy being active.
Barry Horne, Chief Executive of Activity Alliance, said the organisation wanted to “shine a light on the tremendous work taking place to improve opportunities in sport and leisure”.
But he added: “We cannot ignore the fact that we are a long way off achieving true fairness.”
John Amaechi MBE, the first British star in the USA’s National Basketball Association and now an international human rights ambassador, reinforced the call with a video message in his capacity as Vice President of Activity Alliance.
Barry quoted figures from a YouGov poll around the Alliance’s annual disability and activity survey to show that the pandemic had made sport and physical activity less fair for seven out of 10 disabled people, and even when facilities were able to re-open, many disabled people lacked the confidence to return.
Barry added that there is optimism from the Alliance’s own goals of working to change attitudes towards disabled people in sport and activity, and embed inclusive practices across organisations.
He also said the new strategy from Sport England puts tackling inequalities at the heart, but he warned that with this comes greater responsibility for organisations and a need to prioritise disabled people in its investment.
Barry said: “We must use this moment in time to reset, rethink and readjust things for the better. It is a chance to be more thoughtful and innovative. We need to ensure that 14 million disabled people in the UK, that’s one in five of us, are not forgotten. Nobody should miss out on the huge physical and mental health benefits of being active.”
He hailed the summer Paralympics as capturing elite sport at its finest as ParalympicsGB finished finish second in the medal table with a grand total of 124.
But he added: “It also reminded us of the huge gap between being a disabled participant looking to take part in their local gym, and a super talented athlete competing for gold. Ensuring every disabled person can access activity must be the focus.
“In 2022, we are looking forward to creating more opportunities, amplifying more voices and developing more innovative and accessible ways to enjoy being active.
“As the leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity, we know that there remains a long journey to ensure there is fairness for disabled people in sport and activity. The team is ready for 2022 and the opportunities it brings.”
In one of a series of supporting films, John Amaechi said: “Fairness is eliminating the virtual apartheid that exists in terms of access to a diverse array of activities and sports. Affordable access.
“It’s getting serious about the fact that when we can integrate sport and activity for all kinds of people we are all better for it.”
To read the full article and view the videos please visit the news section at https://www.activityalliance.org.uk/
