Disability Sport Showcase Day - Forest Heath

Saturday 27 September 2008

We held our fifth Disability Sport Showcase Day in Mildenhall on Saturday 27 September.

Around 90 disabled people came along to take part in a range of disability sports at Mildenhall Dome Leisure Centre. Many more staff, volunteers and sports coaches were also involved in running the day.

The event took place only a few weeks after the Beijing Paralympics and we were pleased to welcome local Paralympian Brian Alldis, who had just returned from competing at the games. Brian came along to the Showcase to talk about his experience and inspire other people. His presence certainly created a buzz and he said:

• "This is how I started, doing this kind of grassroots event, and now I have just had my first experience of the Paralympics. I wanted to come to the event and talk to disabled youngsters about how important sport can be in their lives."

• "David Finn, Optua Leisure Manager, said: "The showcase day was a great success. We had around 90 disabled people taking part in ten different sports and it was an enjoyable event for everyone involved. Having Brian Alldis there as our guest was great as it gave everyone a buzz to meet a Paralympian who only a few weeks ago was competing in Beijing. Days like this are real community events and aren’t possible without the help of everyone who comes along to help on the day. We’d also like to thank the many organisations who supported and helped to fund the event."

The event was also included in the list of regional events for the London 2012 Open Weekend which marked the start of the four-year Cultural Olympiad celebrations.

Our Disability Sport Academy project aims to encourage more disabled people to get into sport and maybe even help them on the road to the 2012 Paralympics in London. With events like these we are aiming to introduce more people to disability sport and the opportunities that exist for them to take part. Optua has already organised events like this in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft and Sudbury. The plan is to hold two more of them next year so watch this space!

The Mildenhall Showcase Day was funded by the West Anglia Sports Partnership, The Saddlers Company, HSBC, Harrod UK Ltd, R C Treatt and John Gosden Racing. We would also like to thank the West Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership, the St Edmunds Trust and the Suffolk Strategic Partnership Board for their long term support of the Suffolk Disability Sport Academy.

You can download an evaluation report on the Mildenhall Showcase Day here.

back to Disability Sport Academy Page