New film promotes commercial value in Disability Sport Events
A short film on the Disability Sport’s Events programme has been released to raise the profile of its fantastic work. Disability Sport Events has an established history in delivering participation opportunities for thousands of disabled people, with all impairments and at all levels. Potential funders and other audiences can access the film online to understand how valuable partnerships in sport for disabled people are.
Last year was a fantastic year of sport for everyone. Since then, there has been much emphasis given to build on the momentum of the Games, and to create sustainable opportunities for disabled people.
Leading up to the 2012 Games itself, the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) was very proud of the ongoing partnerships formed. EFDS attracted a range of supporters, including a seven year sponsorship deal worth over £1million with Nationwide Building Society. The partnership through Disability Sport Events (DSE), which finished in March 2013, proved to be influential in the chosen sports- swimming and athletics. Many disabled sports people were identified as potential talent for the elite teams at the DSE regional, national and international events.
At the end of the special partnership with Nationwide Building Society, DSE produced a video to show the impact they as a sponsor had in sport. Now this second video includes EFDS’s Chair, Charles Reed, who talks about the commercial value for sponsors and numerous benefits for everyone involved. It was filmed at an event DSE hosted in May at Stoke Mandeville and delivered in partnership with Panathlon.
DSE works with partners such as Panathlon as because of the strength of their products and programmes and outstanding track record of delivering opportunities for people with more profound impairments. Tony Waymouth, Chief Operating Officer for Panathlon, features in the film and commented:
“Panathlon has worked in partnership with DSE on a series of grassroots events. These have seen hundreds of severely young disabled people being able to participate in more opportunities and provided these children with the right to choose a desired sporting pathway. This is what the 2012 Games legacy was designed to do.”
Graeme Wilson, a Sports Development Officer from Northamptonshire Sport, also comments on the impact of working together.
DSE, which delivers a wide range of participation opportunities for disabled people, celebrated its role in the 2012 success too. A quarter of the ParalympicsGB athletes who competed in London had at some point during their career competed in one of our events. The programme is completely self-funded so relies solely on fundraising and sponsorship to continue the work.
Golden girl Hannah Cockroft MBE shot to fame at the London 2012 Paralympics after winning two gold medals. Now 21, she competes in the T34 classification and holds the Paralympic and world records for the 100m and 200m. She remembers one of the DSE championships fondly:
“The National Junior Athletics events were my first stepping stone to success at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. They were my introduction to a competitive world and first taste of gold and glory.”
Eleanor Simmonds OBE, multi-time Paralympic gold medallist, experienced her first national meet at the DSE Championships, when she was nine years old. Now 19, she recalls:
“These events have enabled me to compete from an early stage in my development with other disabled swimmers and I have been able to watch and learn from the top swimmers while progressing through the ranks.”
But the stark reality is that disabled people are half as active as non-disabled people. Recently, our lifestyle research report highlighted:
- There is a clear untapped demand for sport and physical activity, with 70 per cent of those surveyed saying they want to do more.
- Over half of disabled people surveyed (51 per cent) are not enjoying or did not enjoy their experiences of sport in school. This is compared to 69 per cent who enjoy or enjoyed taking part in sport or physical activity with friends outside of school.
- Over 60 per cent of those surveyed claimed that either a lack of awareness of opportunities or a lack of available opportunities is what prevents them from taking part in sport and physical activity.
EFDS, the national charity dedicated to disabled people in sport and physical activity, is seeking more partners from all sectors to ensure there are increased opportunities for everyone to enjoy being active at whatever level they choose to take part. Our vision that is disabled people are active for life and we support various sectors to be more inclusive to work towards that.
Now a year on from the Games, there is a significant amount of work to do in order to continue the valuable work delivered by programmes like DSE. The main reason is that not every disabled person aspires to or could be an elite performer, like a Paralympian. Sustainable opportunities need to include a wider reach of disabled people who just want to be active in an array of roles- from decision making to participation. This means considering the various levels, as well as the people with different types of impairments and in sports that the Paralympic pathways do not support.
DSE aims to fill some of these clear gaps in provision for disabled people and is seeking new or continued investment in the programme. The support would mean:
- Increased opportunities for disabled people to find and enjoy sport
- Providing memorable, quality experiences of sport and physical activity for everyone involved
- Increased volunteering opportunities
- Helping to remove the negative attitudes towards disabled people and the sport they play
- Increased talent identification and development
- Promoting the wider health benefits of a multitude of activities as a lifestyle choice
More information on our current and past supporters can be found through this link.
If this sounds like something your company or provider would like to be involved in, EFDS would like to hear from you. Support can be tailored to achieve mutual goals in sponsorship or corporate social responsibility. Funding partnerships are key to creating an active nation, including millions of disabled people. Please contact Jannine Walker by email or telephone 01509 227750.
