Dame Sarah Storey to head up latest ParalympicsGB Sports Fest in Manchester
Quadruple London 2012 gold medallist and 22-time Paralympic medallist Dame Sarah Storey will be an ambassador for the next ParalympicsGB Sports Fest, which the British Paralympic Association (BPA) today announced will be held in Manchester.
The Salford based track and road cycling superstar has lent her support to the event, which is a free two-day multi-sport event for disabled people that aims to capture some of the enthusiasm built up over the London 2012 Paralympic Games and now into the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. Sports Fest promises attendees the chance to ‘meet the medallists, try the sports, get inspired’.
To be held at SportCity in Manchester, the fourth ParalympicsGB Sports Fest will take place on Monday May 19, 2014.
Dame Sarah said:
"I’m delighted to be named as a Sports Fest Ambassador - some of our most successful Paralympians have helped to promote this fantastic event and I am pleased I can be involved too. After everything that sport has done for me, I truly believe that sport can change your life and this is an opportunity for lots of disabled people to find out more about how sport could change theirs. I'll be there myself along with my family and I'd really encourage other disabled people to come along and give sport a go."
The fourth Sports Fest follows the fantastic success of three previous events which have seen nearly 2,000 attendees through the doors since London.
Visitors to the event can participate in a number of activities, including come-and-try sessions for the vast majority of Paralympic summer and winter sports as well as meet the medallists sessions, where they can put their questions to athletes, have their photos taken and have autographs.
Tim Hollingsworth, Chief Executive of the BPA, said:
“It is brilliant to have a Paralympian of Sarah's calibre on board with us to support the next Sports Fest. She is a tremendous athlete who has already been inspirational to so many people, disabled and non-disabled alike. We have every confidence that she will inspire many more at our festival of disability sport. Sports Fest continues to be an important part of our work in supporting the development of disability sport opportunities. We also want to make the most of increased levels of interest in disability sport, so in particular this time around we hope to see a high level of interest in our Winter Sports as a result of the Sochi Games. Hopefully we will give those who have been inspired by our athletes the opportunity to get involved in the sport of their choice."
To capture the excitement from the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games where ParalympicsGB had their best ever performance winning six medals, there are special taster sessions for Alpine Skiing taking place during Sports Fest at Manchester Chill Factore. Prior to this, a taster session will be held at Hemel Hempstead Snowcentre on Sunday April 13.
For those people keen to try Wheelchair Curling, a session will be held on April 5 at Braehead, near Glasgow. More information can be found at trycurling.com.
Further ambassadors for the event will be announced in the coming weeks. ParalympicsGB Sports Fest will go to different regions of the UK in 2014.
