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Derbyshire ready for the Paralympic Games

29 August 2011

The Paralympic Games will open in London on Wednesday, August 29, 2012. With Team GB looking to capitalise on home advantage for a successful Paralympic Games. Groups in Derbyshire are keen to ensure that disabled people across the county are aware of the opportunities on offer on their doorstep.

A series of events are planned to increase public awareness of the clubs, groups and coaching sessions on offer for people with disabilities across both the City and County.

GB Paralympian and 2012 hopeful Leon Taylor, from Chaddesden, will start the Jog Derbyshire 5k race at Shipley Country Park on September 4, and as part of the event there will also be a number of sporting activities and demonstrations.

This will include blind football from Derby County Football Club, boccia and sitting volleyball by Derby Sportsability Club and cricket by Derbyshire Disability Cricket Club.

Other planned events include:

• Saturday 17 September- Chesterfield FC vs Carlisle United – half time demonstration of Paralympic sports showcasing disability clubs in the Chesterfield area

• Tuesday 27 September – Derby County FC vs Barnsley – half time demonstration of blind football and other Paralympic sports on offer in Derby.

Contact information for local clubs will be available at events to help local people to find appropriate opportunities to participate in Parlaympic sport. Full contact details can also be found on www.derbyshiresport.co.uk (opens in a new window)

Meanwhile a number of other Derbyshire athletes are currently training hard in the hope of being selected to represent Team GB at the 2012 Paralympic Games. This includes wheelchair basketball players Maddie Thompson and Jon Hall, from Clowne and CP footballer Leon Taylor from Chaddesden.

Maddie Thompson said: “It is very exciting to think that in just a year’s time the Paralympic Games will be taking place in London. My goal is to be selected for the Great Britain womens wheelchair basketball team, so at the moment I’m doing everything I possibly can to get me there.

“I hope that the Paralympic Games will also inspire other young people to take up sport. As well as helping to keep you fit, sport is a great way to meet new people, make friends and have fun.”

Jon Hall said: “Winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing was one of the proudest moments of my sporting career so far, and I would love to be part of next year’s team and win a medal on home soil.

“The media profile that the Paralympics will receive next year will also be a terrific chance to attract new people to a variety of sports, and create a lasting legacy from the Games.”

Leon Taylor said: “Being part of the team which competed at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing was amazing. To be able to play for my country at a Paralympic Games in my home country would be the ultimate experience.

“With just one year to go until the Paralympics in London it is also a great time for people to try a new sport – and you never know what hidden talents for a sport you may find. Hopefully the Paralympic Games will inspire some future Paralympians!”

Thursday, September 8 also marks International Paralympic Day, with activities taking place across the world celebrating everything that is good about Paralympic Sport.

Applications for tickets to the Paralympic Games will open on Friday, September 9, 2011 and close on Monday, September 26, 2011. UK residents can also complete a paper ticket application form contained in the official ticketing guide which can be collected from your local TSB branch.

Derbyshire Sport Director David Joy said: “There is a lot of work happening across the county to increase the sporting opportunities available to people with disabilities.

“The Paralympic Games next year will boost the profile of Paralympic sports, and hopefully inspire many more disabled people to try a sport that they have perhaps never played before, and so clubs and organisations are working hard to make sure that that expected increase in demand can be catered for.”

Rory Slater, Derbyshire’s 2012 Legacy Co-ordinator, said: ‘The Paralympic Games offer a fantastic opportunity for everybody to engage with some of the most inspiring and competitive sport imaginable. In Derbyshire, we have an increasingly strong offer for disabled people, old and young, to follow the inspiration of the Games in London. The activities that will take place throughout September will help to showcase some of these opportunities.”

16-year-old wheelchair basketball player Maddie Thompson, from Hope, was part of the GB Women’s squad which won gold at the BT Paralympic World Cup in May, and the GB Women’s U25 squad which won bronze at the inaugural Women's U25’s Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Canada.

Jon Hall, from Clowne, was a member of the Great Britain men’s wheelchair basketball team which competed at the BT Paralympic World Cup in May. The team won the Bronze medal, beating Brazil 63 – 43. Jon has also been selected to be part of the Great Britain men’s wheelchair basketball team which will travel to Israel in September to compete at the 2011 European Championships.

Leon Taylor has been involved with the England Cerebral Palsy Team for the past eight years and competed at the Beijing Paralympics.

The Paralympic Games takes place in London from Wednesday, August 29, 2012 to Sunday, September 9, 2012.

Further details are available from the London 2012 website – www.london2012.com (opens in a new window) and information on tickets can be found at www.tickets.london2012.com (opens in a new window)