Disability Sport Showcase Day - Bury St Edmunds

Over 200 people take part in sport showcase in Bury

Over 200 people took part in Optua's Disability Sport Showcase Day in Bury St Edmunds on Saturday 28th of April 2007. The event was organised as part of our Disability Sport Academy project and provided the opportunity for disabled people to try out a selection of the 12 different sports on offer.

Jayant Mistry, Britain's number one wheelchair tennis player, also visited the event as part of Sport England's Sporting Champions initiative which brings world-class athletes face-to-face with young people to inspire and motivate them to take part in sport. Jayant gave a demonstration of wheelchair tennis, joined participants for a game of table-tennis and thrilled participants by bringing along his trophy for winning the inaugural wheelchair tennis competition at Wimbledon in 2005 to help inspire other people taking part in the event.

Volunteers and coaches from local sports clubs worked together to offer archery, athletics, football, goalball, boccia, tennis, table tennis, fencing, judo, basketball, swimming and powerlifting. The event was open to anyone with a physical, sensory or learning disability and was the second event of this type Optua has held in Suffolk. The Showcase Day was supported by many local Suffolk organisations including the West Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership, The PJK Charitable Trust, Skipton Charitable Trust, St Edmunds Trust, SGRfm's Operation Santa Claus Appeal, Suffolk County Council's Suffolk Single Gateway, and St Edmundsbury Borough Council. The HSBC bank branch in Bury St Edmunds gave a donation and their employees turned out on the day to take part.

David Finn, Optua's Leisure Manager, said: "We've had some very positive feedback from those who took part in the day and the event was a great success. I hope we've inspired some people to take up sport on a regular basis and thanks to the West Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership, the HSBC and SGR fm's operation Santa Claus appeal, we are going to be providing more disabled sporting opportunities in the Bury area such as an archery course and regular boccia sessions." Plans are already underway for a third Showcase Day, in Lowestoft on 22nd September.

For more information about the Suffolk Disability Sport Academy and the next showcase day call Optua Leisure on 01473 836770 or email leisure@optua.org.uk .

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