£10.2m boost for disability sport
Legacy fund aims to continue momentum from Paralympic Games.
Projects giving disabled people more opportunities to get involved in sport will benefit from a £10.2 million cash injection.
Sport England has announced 44 projects around the country that will share a slice of National Lottery funding from the Inclusive Sport fund - an Olympic and Paralympic legacy programme.
Britain’s greatest Paralympian, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, was among those at Mile End Leisure Centre and Stadium today to see first-hand how it will help to break down barriers to participation.
“This funding will go a long way to helping those inspired by the outstanding performances of our Paralympians this summer to get out and try sport for themselves,” she said. “It’s fantastic to see such a wide range of organisations benefiting.”
Increased funding
In response to the high quality of bids for funding, Sport England increased the amount available through the fund from £8 million to more than £10 million.
“We have one simple aim with this investment: to make sport a viable choice for disabled people, young or not, talented or not,” Chief Executive Jennie Price said. “It is a tribute to the organisations who bid for funding that we had so many high quality proposals.”
Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said: “We want to continue the momentum from the London 2012 Paralympic Games and do all we can to increase opportunities for people with a disability to get involved in sport. The Paralympics was arguably the biggest success of the summer and we want to leave a real legacy from the Games.”
Funded projects
Groups benefiting from the fund include:
- Together East, which will receive more than £560,000 to deliver initiatives in East London culminating in an annual festival of disability sport on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park;
- The Wheelchair Football Association, which has been awarded £352,381 to deliver hundreds of introductory and coaching sessions for Powerchair football;
- The Down’s Syndrome Association, which will receive £290,145 to build on its successful DS Active programme for children and young people.
The British Paralympic Association is also building on the success of London 2012 by holding the inaugural ParalympicsGB Sport Fest today and tomorrow.